


She-Ra: Heart of Courage

by Say_Anything



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fankids - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Teen Angst, Trigger Warning: stillborn baby, second generation adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 110,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24747562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Say_Anything/pseuds/Say_Anything
Summary: Years after the war, Adora and Glimmer's happy ending is brought to an abrupt halt when their baby barely survives her own birth. Years later, as she grow up in a world of magic dubbed the 'Powerless Princess', Adora is forced to confront her own short comings as a mother.When her daughter reaches a breaking point and runs away from home on a desperate search for power, Adora embarks on a quest to find her--realizing too late that her own daughter's actions might mean the end of Etheria as they know it.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra/Glimmer (Implied), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 261
Kudos: 156





	1. Princess Prom

**Author's Note:**

> I was like... feral over this idea, and so excited to post it...and now I am and I'm nervous!!! A big thanks to all my friends who helped me edit and build this fic. I'm still pretty excited to continue with it, I know fankid stories aren't always super popular, but the main cast from the show will feature heavily in this fic still.  
> (I should also mention now that the Glitra content in this fic is never like explicit... But it's IMPORTANT for Catra's motivations... So I'm keeping it tagged)
> 
> If you do enjoy it, please let me know! I'd love to hear any thoughts or critiques or whatever you've got! Thank you for giving it a shot :D
> 
> I hope you enjoy the first installment

Silence was what Adora remembered most about that day. The deafening silence that followed when, after eight strenuous and painful hours, the baby arrived in silence.

After all of the studying and preparing she’d done for this moment, Adora was  _ certain _ babies cried when they were born.

_ ‘It’s the sign that their lungs are breathing air for the first time.’ _

That’s what she’d read, that’s what she remembered. But that wasn’t what she heard.

Marlena, the head healer, took the baby away immediately—also without a word. Adora stared after her, a cold chill running through her limbs as Marlena was swarmed by the two other healers who had been helping them throughout the labor.

Confused, dread washing over her like a sinking wave, Adora’s world shrunk down to a small tunnel, zeroed in on the backs of the healers as they fussed over the quiet newborn. She could hear Glimmer somewhere beside her, but her voice was distant like an echo. Her hand was being squeezed, probably more tightly than it had during the entire birth, but still, Adora could barely feel it.

Heart pounding in her chest, Adora pressed a quick and reassuring kiss to her wife’s clammy forehead before pulling away and hurrying over to the healers.

“Marlena—?” Adora prompted her, but the healer did not turn away from her worktable.

Adora saw her draw a few spells she did not recognize, lowering the sigils until they glowed and ignited over the baby’s body and still Adora heard nothing. The healers whispered amongst themselves, acting as if Adora wasn’t even there.

“What’s going on?” Adora prodded again, more forcefully. “Is she okay?”

Another spell lit up the air.

Cold, body aching, head spinning, Adora heard the shrill tone of panic creep into her own voice as she spoke again. “I said, is she okay? What’s wrong?  _ Answer me! _ ”

Finally, the healers straightened, the spells dying down and disappearing all together. Marlena turned slowly, the gentle healer’s eyes glistened as she faced Adora.

A small shake of her head was all she offered. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

It took Adora a moment to understand what the woman was implying. And when she did, she felt the entire world ripped out from under her. Tearing her eyes away from the healer’s Adora caught sight of the discolored, motionless body lying on the table behind her.

“No…She—,”

The words died in her throat. She couldn’t be—She  _ shouldn’t  _ be—

Adora suddenly remembered the grave concern on Micah and Castaspella’s faces the day after they’d performed the conception ceremony in Mystacor. There had been a brief bumble in the proceedings, a small debate about whether Adora had offered enough blood. And then the next morning they’d woken to a broken seal. Micah had blamed himself, Casta had argued—reminding all of them that Micah never made a mistake when it came to sorcery. Whomever might have been to blame, they’d proceeded and decided to let the pregnancy play out, if it did at all.

Luckily, it did.

Unluckily, it was  _ difficult _ . Glimmer spent most of it sick or in pain, especially near the end. And Adora, who had never  _ not _ struggled with guilt, was devastated to watch her wife go through it alone. Especially when they’d both been so excited at the prospect of a baby.

And now…

“She’s not—,”

“She’s not breathing,” Marlena spoke calmly, a gentle hand landing on Adora’s arm. “There is no heartbeat. I am so sorry.”

Adora stared at Marlena and then at the lifeless figure of her baby and somewhere behind her she heard Glimmer let out a sob and her heart shattered like fragile glass. Marlena moved towards Glimmer and the other two healers began to gather up the baby’s body when something inside Adora snapped.

It couldn’t end like this.

This was supposed to be her happy ending. Her perfect future. No more pain, or suffering, or sacrifice. She had to do something. She had to  _ try. _

“Stop!” she called out to the healers and they paused in their work to blink at her with pitiful eyes. “Wait, please.”

Adora took a cautious step towards them, reaching one trembling hand towards the blue body. “Let me see her. Please... _ Please. _ ”

The healers looked at one another, unsure of her intentions, but ultimately deciding it best not to deny the new mother a right to see her child. They passed the body to Adora, who tried not to feel sick at the sensation of such lifelessness in her tiny limbs. Adora could hold her easily in both hands, she was so small. Her eyes were closed, her mouth a thin line, limbs still. She looked almost peaceful, as if she were just sleeping and she’d wake up any moment.

Hot tears slid down Adora’s cheeks as she looked inside herself and begged She-Ra’s power to come forth. She didn’t need the phrase she’d shouted so often in her younger hero days to transform anymore. She just had to focus on the feelings—on the power of She-Ra inside. But this time, she chanted internally… the name they’d chosen for the baby before she was born.

Luna.

A ‘new moon’. A new heir to the throne of Bright Moon. It seemed fitting at the time, and now Adora used it as a mantra to channel She-Ra’s strength. In a flash, she stood above them all, transformed into an 8-foot-tall demigoddess, golden glow lighting the quiet room. The baby was even smaller now, held easily in one palm. With one last silent prayer, Adora bent and touched her forehead to Luna’s.

She-Ra’s healing abilities had always felt a bit undefined, even in her own mind. She’d brought both Catra and Shadow Weaver back from the brink of death in the past. And her control over She-Ra had only grown since then. But  _ from _ death itself? When there was no life inside to restore? Would it work if she used She-Ra’s magic to act as a spark? To ignite the baby’s heartbeat, or breathe air into her lungs?

Adora had to try.

She focused, stilling the tears, and pouring the energy into the tiny body. In her past experiences, healing felt a little like giving some of her own life to the injured party. An exchange of energy. She felt it here, but something was different… Stronger. As if a piece of her was leaving—being pulled through her chest like the painful drag of a blade. She pressed on, even when the pain became intense, squeezing her eyes shut tight, chanting to herself: ‘ _ Come back to me. Come back to me.’ _

And then, very suddenly, the pain was gone and Adora was left with an exhaustion so intense that she was de-transformed despite her will. When she opened her eyes, she heard a tiny gasp and then a sharp wail and the body in her hands wiggled furiously. The healers were at her side in an instant, taking the now screeching baby away before Adora could drop her from trembling hands.

Marlena was behind her then, steadying her and guiding her back to her wife on shaky and unstable legs. She sunk down beside Glimmer on the bed and pulled her wife into the tightest hug she could manage. Glimmer gripped her back, tears wetting the fabric of her shirt.

“Thank you…,” she kept mumbling. “Thank you…”

She didn’t understand why Glimmer was thanking her. There was nothing _ to _ thank her for. Adora wanted to say something to comfort her, but words slipped through her fingers like sand. The best she could do was hold her and kiss her temple and stay locked in their embrace until Marlena approached once more with a much quieter, much wigglier bundle.

Adora sat back, wiping the tears from her own eyes with the heel of her palm as Marlena smiled and placed the bundle in Glimmer’s arms.

“Congratulations, Your Majesties,” she said. “Princess Luna of Bright Moon.”

The healer stepped away, leaving the two to gaze down in awe at their daughter. Color had returned to her cheeks, a peachy pink. A light smattering of blonde hair topped her little head and bright blue eyes gazed up in curiosity at both of them.

“Adora…,” Glimmer’s voice was full of awe, she didn’t need to finish for Adora to know exactly what she meant.

“I know,” she chuckled in response, reaching out to tenderly stroke the baby’s tiny hands.

Luna’s little fingers clenched tightly around hers and Adora smiled—maybe she’d transferred more of She-Ra into the baby than she’d intended. Luna blinked up at her, tiny mouth opening in a yawn and Adora’s heart swelled with a kind of love she’d never experienced before.

Adora made a silent vow in that moment, to do everything in her power to protect this little girl until her own dying day.

* * *

**16 years later…**

Adora was going to kill her daughter.

For the first time in nearly two decades, Bright Moon would be hosting Princess Prom. And that meant, everything needed to be  _ perfect _ . Adora had stayed up late into the night for the past week planning out a guest list, sending invites, prepping the kitchen staff for the amount of food necessary, considering appropriate thematic decorations… And it was all laid out in the detailed itinerary she’d doled out to each person currently at the meeting. Which included Glimmer, General Aveline, Bow, Micah, (Castaspella—although she was currently communicating through a Comm screen at the back of the meeting room) and a smattering of Castle staff.

The meeting had been going as well as Adora could have expected, until a few minutes ago, when Luna began restlessly shifting at her seat near the end of the meeting table. At first tapping her pen loudly against the table (until Micah had gently taken it away), and then rocking in her chair enough to make it squeak (until Bow had poked her shoulder). And she was now staring at her bouncing leg, ignoring the itinerary before her although Adora noticed she was now a few pages behind the others.

Turning away from her enormous cork board that connected her plan for the night's events with string, Adora tapped her pointer on the table to grab her daughter’s attention. “Luna.”

Luna’s eyes darted up, her leg stilling. She glanced around at the others, who were all now also staring at her, even Castaspella—although, because she was stuck in a comm screen, the angle made it look more like she was glaring at the ceiling.

Adora plastered on a pleasant smile. “Are you looking at your itinerary, Luna?”

“Yes.”

“No, you’re not. I can see you not looking at it.”

Luna gestured to the itinerary. “It’s right in front of me.”

“We’re not on that page anymore. You’re not following along with the group. Please pay attention. As Princess of Bright Moon, you are also a host this year. It’s important you know what your duties will be.”

Luna looked down at her papers and then glanced over at Micah’s and quickly flipped to the right page, hunching her shoulders as she stared down at it. The others uncomfortably shifted their attention back to Adora.

Inhaling a calming breath, Adora returned to her cork board, not a single doubt in her mind that they’d have to have this  _ exact _ conversation again in a few minutes when she fell behind again.

“Moving on,” Adora pointed to one of the points on her board. “Bow, I’m thinking the band you gathered together from Thaymor should have the west end of the Grand Hall to themselves. And we should let them set up a few hours before we open the doors to guests. So, I’m hoping that before the events start, you’ll take charge of helping them navigate?”

Bow sent her a grin and thumbs up. “Can do, Your Majesty.”

“Micah,” Adora turned to her father-in-law. “We had the braziers set up around the Grand Hall earlier today but if you could be so kind as to light them this evening. All things considered, with the amount of guests we’ll be hosting, we thought, um, magic— _ containable _ —fire, might be the best decoration.”

“Absolutely,” Micah dipped his chin respectfully.

Adora returned his nod, gratefully. “As for the entrance ceremony, it will take place at 6pm sharp, which will give the guests plenty of time to settle and mingle before the events begin. Luna, for you, this means that you’ll need to be  _ ready _ and waiting near the North entrance of the Grand Hall by  _ exactly  _ 5:30pm. Is that understood—,”

When Adora turned, Luna’s was picking absent mindedly at the palm of one of her worn gloves. She glanced up at the sudden, tense silence, head whipping around as she noticed all eyes on her once again.

“…Yes?” she tried, grinning weakly as she tucked her hands beneath her thighs.

Adora crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “What did I say?”

Almost comically round, terrified blue eyes blinked back at her in silence until Micah leaned over and whispered something in Luna’s ear.

“Oh, uh, be ready for the entrance ceremony at 5:30.” Micah leaned in again. “At the north end of the Grand Hall.”

Adora shot Micah a warning glare, but the former king simply shrugged in reply as Luna began absently flipping through her itinerary again, crisis having been averted.

“Casta,” Adora gritted the name through her teeth. Castaspella had never been her favorite of Glimmer’s relatives. But especially not after the debauched conception spell. Very rarely did Adora keep the yearly matching sweaters the sorceress sent them. “If you would be willing to keep an eye on the buffet table, organize the line, make sure the kitchen staff keeps things full.”

“Oh, I--”

Adora pressed on, ignoring any potential objections. “Glimmer will make her speech at exactly 6pm and then we’ll complete the customary ‘first dance’ together and Princess Prom will officially be in full swing from there. Any questions?”

“I have one,” Glimmer spoke up and Adora peered at her, momentarily confused until her wife batted her eyelashes at her and said, “Were you planning on keeping up this ‘take charge’ attitude all night, or--?”

Adora’s face burned with the implications and somewhere in the back of the room Micah let out a nervous cough and Luna gagged loudly, but Glimmer sure didn’t seem bothered. Clearing her throat, Adora smiled nervously at her wife, nodded quickly and then moved onto the next point.

Her voice breaking as she did so.

The rest of the meeting went by relatively painlessly, with no more interruptions. As Adora dismissed the assembled crew, one-by-one, she stopped her daughter as she attempted to slip out behind Micah. Adora caught the back of her collar, dragging her back and turning her in an about face.

“Luna.”

“What?” A hint of a whine crept into Luna’s voice. “I heard everything. I know what I’m supposed to do. Can I go?”

“I need you to take this seriously,” Adora ignored her complaint, pinning her with the best ‘mom glare’ she could muster. “This isn’t just a dance, okay? This is the first time Bright Moon is hosting the Princess Prom in over—,”

“—A long time, I  _ know _ .”

“—Two decades,” Adora continued. “It’s important to me. It’s important to your mother that it goes well. So treat it like a royal duty and not some game, alright? Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Luna’s eyes boiled with barely contained annoyance, but to her credit she finished with a respectful, “I understand.”

Adora jerked her chin towards the door. “Then go on and head to the tailors. They’ve got a few different outfits that you need to decide on for the—,”

Luna dashed out the door.

“—Okay.”

Sighing, Adora took one last look at her corkboard before shuffling out into the hall. Bow and Glimmer were waiting for her, an amused smile gracing her wife’s lips as Adora approached.

“That was awful,” Adora grumped, lowering her head until her forehead was pressed to Glimmer’s shoulder and her wife could wrap her arms comfortingly around her.

“It was  _ not _ awful,” Glimmer assured her, patting her shoulders. “You planned everything out and everyone will follow their cues and it’ll be a great night, okay?”

“I just wish she’d  _ listen _ .”

“She listens,” Bow interjected, adjusting his round spectacles. “Just… In her own way.”

Adora huffed. “It’s frustrating when I’m  _ trying _ to teach her for her own sake.  _ I _ already know this stuff. This is her first time and I don’t want her embarrassing herself--,”

“Well, have you tried communicating that with her?” Bow offered with a wince.

“Yes.”

Glimmer pulled away from Adora to pin her with a glare that said, ‘oh have you now?’

“I have!” Adora insisted, her voice rising childishly. “Just… Maybe not in those exact words.”

Bow chuckled and Glimmer rolled her eyes in amusement. “Look, she’s doing her best, Adora. She’ll do her part and follow the plan. But maybe… Let up on her a little bit? She’s still a kid and this is a party for her. Let her have a little fun.”

Adora pursed her lips. It was more than a ‘party’ for them, and Frosta had been nearly five years younger than Luna when she’d had to act as a dignitary should and host her on Princess Prom. 

“It wasn’t a party for us.”

“Well, there’s also not a war on anymore. Times have changed.”

Glimmer had a point. 

Heaving a weary sigh, Adora offered her wife a knowing smile. “You win. You’re right. You always are.”

Glimmer grinned back, rising onto her toes to press a victorious kiss to Adora’s own smirk. “I like that. Say that again.”

“Annnnd if you guys are gonna start doing  _ that _ again, I’m gone. See you in a bit, bye,” Bow turned on his heel, raising his hands and dashing down the hall.

Snorting, grateful Bow was now gone, Adora slipped her arms around her wife’s waist and tugged her into a tight hug.

“What would I do without you, Glim?”

“Luckily, you’ll never have to find out.” Her wife’s response was punctuated with a gentle kiss to her temple.

Adora, now significantly calmer, took her wife’s hand and together they headed for the Grand Hall to prepare for the night’s events.

* * *

Luna made a quick stop at the tailor’s before scurrying back to her room laden down with fancy party clothes. She tossed them all on the bed haphazardly before slamming her bedroom door shut and turning to face the giant pile.

Most of the dresses were shades of purple or pink; colors Luna had long ago decided didn’t look good on her, which was a problem considering the color scheme of her entire kingdom. A simple blue one caught her eye and she quickly pulled it on, only to discover that it was unapologetically backless. Luna turned, cautiously taking in the sight of the tiny and deformed feathers poking out of her shoulders. One of the few feathers bent at an almost 90 degree angle, another was severed at the shaft from the time she’d tried to cut them off in a frustrated and tearful fury almost four years ago… The damage only made the puny wings look worse.

Nope.

Tossing the dress aside, she tried on a reddish one—still mostly pink, but darker—only to find that its high collar was way too itchy and constricting for her liking. She’d been about to peel it off when a clattering noise came from her window.

Whirling around, fists raised to fight off any intruder in the strangling dress, Luna saw a familiar magicat perched on the ledge of her window. He was tapping against the glass and waving frantically with the other hand, grinning.

Skittering across the room, Luna pulled open the latch of the massive window—stepping aside as it swung in and Ash, her best friend since babyhood, hopped inside. Luna had spent many years of her life running around the castle grounds with the magicat orphan Catra had found on her travels. Sometimes he stayed with them, sometimes he went with his adopted mother on her journeys across Etheria. But mostly he’d been a constant presence in Luna’s life from her earliest memories. As of the last two months, he’d been in the Crimson Waste with Catra, quelling the recent uprisings of old scattered Horde cells that were threatening to reform the organization. Luna had missed him, and more than that, she was jealous that his life sounded way more exciting than choosing a dress for Prom.

“We have doors, you know,” she teased as the magicat boy dusted off his pants as casually as if he hadn’t just come in through the window.

“Yeah, but guests are currently already coming through those doors. And I wanted to avoid the horde of strangers. And I can climb. And you have a window. So I climbed.”

“Showoff.”

He grinned and then peered at the dress she wore and pointed at the frilly collar. “Since when?”

“Since it’s Princess Prom and I guess dresses are required.” Luna tugged the dress over her head and threw it at Ash who struggled to escape it while she redonned her shirt.

“Are they?” Ash glanced down at the fabric and then held it out against his own body. “Guess I’m out of luck then, I didn’t bring one.”

Luna laughed despite herself. “Take that one then, it sucks. Hey, where’s Catra anyway?”

“Using the doors, like a loser,” Ash replied, tossing the red dress onto the pile on Luna’s bed. “She says hi though. She also said, ‘don’t trip during the entrance ceremony because she will point and laugh’. Her words. Not mine.”

Luna snorted, grinning to herself as she picked up yet another dress and examined it in the mirror. Catra was one of her favorite people. Out of every adult that dominated her life, Catra seemed to treat her the most like an equal. They even sparred sometimes, with wooden staves, which were a step up from the lame foam swords her mother let her use when she  _ reluctantly _ agreed to “train” Luna. Adora doubted her skills, while Catra encouraged them. Adora fretted for her safety. Catra knocked her down and made her push herself back up. It was the kind of respect Luna wanted and she was more than ecstatic that the older magicat had made the trip to join them this evening.

“Did she bring a dress?” Luna asked as she pulled the white garment over her other clothes. It was decent enough and not restricting and it covered her back. Good enough. “Mom’s not gonna let her in the door if she’s wearing her dirty traveling gear. She’s on the warpath tonight.”

Ash scoffed, his ears flattening. “Absolutely not. She’s got a slick suit.”

Luna was debating the possible pros and cons of showing up to the prom in a suit instead when Ash groaned loudly and tugged on the back of her dress.

“This one looks great; can you just choose and hurry up? Willow’s waiting for us in the gardens.”

“She’s already here? Why didn’t you  _ start  _ with that?!” Luna berated him, tearing the dress off and tossing it aside for later.

Ash fielded her flurry of messy blows easily, raising his forearms to block as he stumbled backward toward the door, laughing. “You were having such a good time playing dress up!”

The two scurried out of Luna’s room and down towards the main hall, dodging guards as they passed—Ash sometimes ducking between their legs and laughing as they called out in anger after the two. They managed to avoid any adults that might have stopped them, bursting into the gardens in a tussle and nearly barreling straight into Willow, who was crouched and speaking quietly to a cluster of yellow lilies. 

She screeched, grabbing her tail to keep it from striking out as Ash and Luna stumbled into her. When she saw who it was who was assaulting her, however, she dropped her tail and scooped up her two much smaller friends into a crushing hug.

“You guys!” she squeaked, smooshing their cheeks together and humming happily. Ash growled low in his chest but Luna just laughed and squeezed her back as best she could.

Plumeria wasn’t far from Bright Moon, but it had also been quite some time since Luna had seen Willow in anything less than ‘royal visitation’ context. As soon as Willow set them down (and they’d gulped in air) Luna took in her friend. 

She seemed to have grown somehow even taller, arms more burly, blinding smile just as wide. Her wavy white blond hair still hung over one shoulder, short, and braided along the side. Her tanned and freckled skin peeked out of the black and pink dress she wore, decorated with red garnets. And the familiar pink flowers (that Luna didn’t know the names of even after all these years) stuck out behind her ear.

“Wow,” Luna beamed at her friend. “You look amazing.”

Willow’s blush reached her ears as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing matching garnet earrings. “Y-you think so? I wasn’t sure about the dress. It’s got like… A thigh cut thing. Which is.. Like wow! Y’know. But mom said she loved it and that it reminded her of her own Princess Prom dress. So I felt… I dunno I--Oh, um. Thank you.”

“Yeah, yours looks way better than Luna’s,” Ash agreed, ignoring Willow’s rambling and shoving Luna’s shoulder. “The one she picked looks like a smock.”

“What’s a smock?” Willow asked, her dark eyes wide and curious.

“It’s like a potato sack that people pretend is fashionable.”

Ash held out an arm to stop Luna as she pounced at him with a growl. 

“You don’t even  _ have _ a dress,” she spat, struggling to reach him. “You’re one to talk!”

Ash laughed and then the three heard the sound of horns blowing in the distance. They stopped tustling and looked up to see a parade of blue and white coming through the Whispering Woods.

“Princess Frosta is here,” Willow observed. “And I thought  _ we _ were early.”

“What time is it anyway? I thought we had a few hours,” Luna asked, glancing at Ash, who just shrugged back in response. “Whatever, let’s head inside. We can hang out in my room until everyone gets here.”

“Is Nerida coming tonight?” Ash asked as they trudged back toward the castle as a group.

“I think so? I mean, we invited all of Salineas so…,” Luna’s brows rose along with a teasing smirk. “Why?”

Ash’s ears flattened against his head, eyes darting to the ground. “I don’t know. I’m just asking.”

“How kind of you to keep track of the guest list for us, Ash,” Luna batted her eyes at him. “Especially the pretty guests.”

He shoved her again, this time so hard she flew into a nearby rose bush.

* * *

Somehow, despite her best efforts. Luna lost track of time. 

She’d barely managed to properly outfit herself, with Willow’s help before booking it to the north entrance of the Grand Hall, making it to her place at around 5:45. Not really late enough for it to matter, but the slight narrowing of Adora’s eyes as she arrived wasn’t lost on her. 

Luna was about to defend herself when Glimmer turned and gasped lightly. Almost concerned she had gotten something on her white dress, Luna glanced down, turning a circle to see, but then Glimmer was cupping her cheeks and pressing a kiss to her forehead and murmuring, “You look beautiful.”

Luna flushed, unable to meet her mother’s sparkling eyes. She was one to talk. The Queen was always dazzling… Literally. But the long lavender dress she wore tonight, along with the flowing blue cape and the sparkles in her long wavy hair, was breathtaking. 

“Thanks, Mom.” 

Luna glanced at Adora, who was watching them both with a much softer expression. Her own outfit included white pants and a cuffed red shirt and cape, which Luna resented as she’d been informed that  _ dresses were mandatory, or something _ . 

Suddenly, Glimmer was placing something on her head and Luna looked up to see the shine of a gold circlet before the cool metal touched her skin. 

“Just for the ceremony,” Glimmer explained as she stepped away and Luna lifted her hands to feel the tiara on her head. It was slightly too large, sliding down between her eyes even when she pushed it back up. 

“But Mom doesn’t wear one,” Luna felt the need to point out that even Adora, as Queen Consort, never wore a crown. The right seemed reserved for Glimmer only.

“Mom’s not the next heir of Bright Moon,” Glimmer replied, although there was a twinge of sadness in her tone, Luna noticed, and her eyes had dulled slightly. 

Pursing her lips, Luna pushed the sliding crown back up and fell silent. She stood by as her mothers went over the plan for their entrance, Glimmer’s speech and the subsequent opening dance. Luna would be required to do nothing more but stand beside the thrones and be as unobtrusive as possible until it was over, and then she could actually enjoy the party. 

Easy.

Not long after, the trumpets blared, signaling that it was time for the speech. Before they stepped out of the curtains that hid them, Glimmer glanced at Adora and Luna heard her whisper, “Do I look okay?”

Her mother hummed and kissed Glimmer’s forehead, murmuring, “Like a queen.”

Then the curtains pulled open and Glimmer linked her arm through Adora’s as they stepped out into the Grand Hall. They were greeted with cheers and a loud announcement “Presenting Queen Glimmer, Queen Adora and Princess Luna of Bright Moon.”

Luna scanned the audience for her friends as the crowd erupted--she was hoping to pinpoint Catra… Maybe stick her tongue out to prove that she had managed to  _ not _ trip and fall upon entering. Except she almost did trip the harder she looked and resigned herself to focusing on standing in her assigned spot as her mother stepped forward to make her speech.

The crowd quieted as Glimmer began to speak: “Friends from all across Etheria, today marks nearly two decades since the defeat of Horde Prime and the return of peace to our world. Many of you here stood beside me that day and fought to protect our home. Tonight is a reminder of our reward. Of the people and love and families that we fought for. Of the gifts that have been given to us since. On behalf of myself, Bright Moon, and my own family, we invite you to truly enjoy yourselves tonight. It was not an easy fight to win, but we did it together, in unity. And tonight we celebrate as one again.”

Glimmer stepped back to more applause and cheers and then Adora was leading her out onto the dance floor to begin the opening ceremony. They would complete the first dance alone and then the floor would open to the rest of the crowd. Luna watched them for a bit from where she stood planted by the thrones. Adora had made it clear she shouldn’t move until the music stopped. So she shuffled from foot to foot instead, allowing her attention to drift to the magical twinkling lights Micah and Casta had created that floated near the ceiling.

The final eruption of applause signaled that the first dance was over and Luna quickly scampered away as the crowds dispersed amongst the hall to indulge in the party.

She found Ash talking to the Salineas twins (of course). Nerida and Percival (affectionately nicknamed Percy) were two years older than her, taller and way more regal looking too. Nerida kind of reminded Luna of the sea nymphs she was named for: long dark wavy hair and eyes, the gold accents she wore on her bracelets and silken, scale patterned clothes, contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. She was listening to Ash babble with her arms crossed over her chest, a glazed look in her eyes. But Ash didn’t seem to notice, because he continued to chatter, the twitching of his tail signaling his nerves. 

Percy wasn’t pretending to listen at all. His attention was on the rest of the crowd as he grinned and winked and finger gunned at various guests who passed. Luna crept up behind Ash, pouncing at the last moment and startling him so badly his fur puffed up. He whirled on her, yellow eyes wide and furious.

“ _ Luna!” _

“Sorry to steal him, Nerida. But we’ve got a buffet bar to raid.”

“Sure, whatever,” Nerida raised a single thick brow, clearly grateful to be rid of both.

“ _ I was talking to her, Luna _ ,” Ash hissed as Luna steered him away from the apathetic twins. 

“You were talking  _ at _ her. Come on, this is supposed to be a party! Let’s eat a ton of food and actually  _ partake  _ in the activities.”

“The activities include mingling with very nice, uh, strong… Um, super cool princesses,” Ash shot back, his cheeks turning red.

“Oh, am I not a nice, strong, super cool princess?”

“No.”

Luna shoved him roughly before spotting the figure of Willow near the buffet bar. Latching onto Ash’s wrist, so he could not escape, she dragged him through the crowd.

“Willow!”

Their friend screeched, startled for the second time that day, nearly dropping her assembled tray of goodies. 

“Guys, please…If I spill anything on this dress, Ma’ll kill me,” she sighed with relief as she registered her friends. “Did you guys try this green jello stuff yet, it’s amazing…”

“Did not,” Luna tugged on her friend’s dress. “Come on, Ash and I are gonna go cause a ruckus. You should come.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe we should try to  _ avoid  _ trouble, actually...tonight?” Willow’s reluctance was disheartening, but Luna didn’t push her.

“Fine… Enjoy the jello.  _ We’re _ gonna have an actual good time.” Luna plowed ahead, grabbing a few biscuit looking items as she passed the plate. 

Once they’d reached an area that left them a little room to breathe, Ash asked: “Okay, so what are we doing?”

Luna turned around thoughtfully. “Hmm… I’m not sure actually. Maybe--Oh, wait… Hey, you have something on your shirt…”

Ash glanced down just in time for Luna to smush a crumby, flaky biscuit into his pristine white dress shirt. He jolted, whipping his head up to gape at her, but Luna was already laughing and bolting away. Ash’s eyes narrowed, lips quirking into a smirk as he quickly gave chase.

* * *

The third song came to a graceful end and Adora turned Glimmer in a final spin before pulling her close, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. Glimmer’s gaze was tender as she met Adora’s, her eyes sparkling with a light the blonde hadn’t seen in a long time.

Although there was a crowd of dancers around them, Adora decided to screw any formal tradition and cupped Glimmer’s cheek, leaning in for a true kiss when a familiar voice stopped her cold.

“Your Majesty,” the snark dripped from her tone in such a familiar manner that Adora felt like she’d been yanked years into the past. “Hey, Adora.”

“Catra.”

Adora and Glimmer turned to see their old friend approaching with a smirk so wide, one of her fangs stuck out against her bottom lip. Her long hair was pulled up into a (somehow still wild) ponytail. A dark red half cape hung over one shoulder, accenting the tux she wore that was mostly tones of red and black. 

“Long time no see,” Catra’s bi-colored eyes twinkled as she approached them. “Did you miss me?”

“Not particularly,” Adora muttered, which wasn’t true, but she was bitter that Catra had swaggered in and ruined a perfectly romantic moment with her wife, so…

Glimmer nudged her harshly in reproach and smiled at Catra. “Of course we did. And we’re glad you could make it, Catra. How was the Waste?”

Catra seemed to lose some of her bravado as Glimmer acknowledged her, ears twitching backward in what almost looked like embarrassment. “Oh, you know… Dusty and hot and deadly. Nothing new. Well, except for the ‘horde’ uprisings. But they’ve been taken care of. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“I guess you’d be the best person in Etheria to handle violent Horde uprisings, huh?” Adora suggested calmly.

“Adora,” Glimmer hissed.

Catra’s response was just as collected, despite the lashing of her tail. “Well, you know me...”

Clearing her throat, Glimmer held out a hand for the magicat, offering a pleasant smile. “Catra, dance with me?”

Adora’s head snapped around to her wife and then back to Catra, who’s eyes had gone wide. She quickly straightened once she noticed Adora’s gaze on her and took Glimmer’s hand, leading her away and tossing another, “You know me,” at Adora over her shoulder.

Adora gaped after them. It wasn’t  _ rare _ to switch partners at a Princess Prom. She knew that from her first. But the absolute  _ gall _ , Catra’s attitude, combined with Glimmer’s saccharine sweetness for their obnoxious friend…

Feeling betrayed, and aware of the many eyes on the now lone Queen standing in the middle of the ballroom, Adora hunched her way back to the thrones and took a seat--attempting to burn holes in the back of Catra’s head with her glare. She watched them as another song began, something much faster, the beat heavier. Because of course, Adora grumped.  _ Of course. _

She saw Catra take Glimmer’s hand and bow low, her cape sweeping out behind her and then they were pressed together, spinning around the ballroom. Adora immediately took the drink that was offered her by a passing waitstaff and sipped bitterly at it as her wife and former ex moved together.

Her teeth clenched when she saw Catra’s hand slip  _ a tiny bit _ lower than was necessary on her wife’s waist as they danced. She gripped the sides of her throne as members of the crowd began to point and cheer. Some whistled and clapped and it only seemed to spur the two on. Glimmer was laughing and grinning, allowing Catra to turn her in spins and dips and even a brief toss into the air. 

When she floated down, her wings making the descent slower, lavender eyes caught Adora’s from across the dance floor. A silent invitation, one Adora would have demanded any second now if she hadn’t just offered it. Rising from her throne, Adora made her way down the steps with as much bravado as she could muster (even though the anger was making her shaky). She approached the dancing couple, tapping on Catra’s shoulder to draw her attention. Catra looked back, smile falling and then reluctantly released Glimmer when Adora pinned her with a dangerous glare.

Glimmer gave Catra a wink and then returned her attention to Adora, arms sliding around her neck as she pressed their bodies together unabashedly. Adora’s ears burned when she heard the crowd reacting again and then she sucked in a steadying breath and focused on her wife as they began moving around the ballroom once more.

Catra watched for a bit, a challenging glint in her eye, before she cut in again… The game was on now.

/

Ash paused in their game of chase, his ears perking as the crowd cheered around them. He straightened, jumping a little to try to see above the wall of people that had gathered in a circle around the dancefloor.

“What’s going on over there?” 

“I don’t know, but who cares? Come on!” Luna threw another biscuit at him, cackling as it smacked him square in the forehead.

Ash’s eyes flashed and he grinned and dove after her, claws extended fiercely. Luna screeched and ducked around the buffet table, skittering left and right as Ash matched her movement. Finally, he leapt  _ over _ the table entirely and she was forced to climb under before shooting off towards the north end of the room.

“I thought cats were supposed to be fast!” she called over her shoulder, just as she nearly barreled into a random passerby. The guest’s cup of wine clattered to the floor, droplets staining the hem of her white dress, but she scurried by without stopping.

“I thought princesses were supposed to be graceful!” Ash shot back, zig zagging through some lit braziers. They wobbled with the movement.

Luna turned to face him, sticking out her tongue as the tiara slipped down her face once more, making for a truly ridiculous expression. She heard the crowd whoop again just as Ash pounced. Turning to run again, Luna’s foot caught the hem of her dress and she stumbled. Ash collided with her and together they tumbled into the stem of one of the braziers. The two watched in horror, eyes wide as the brazier tumbled into the next one and the next one and like a row of dominoes they collapsed. Magical fire spilled onto the floor until the final brazier in the line crashed, hard and heavy directly into the mural it stood in front of.

Luna’s sharp gasp was cut off as the loud screech of metal against stone left a large gash in the face of her grandmother’s mural.

And then the whole thing caught fire.

* * *

Adora heard the crash and the _woosh_ of flames before she felt them. The blaze of heat buffeted the crowd, filling the room. Whirling around in fear and panic, Adora saw four braziers had toppled at the north end of the room, the magical purple flames now spreading on the floor. Micah and Casta appeared beside her in an instant and tamed the flames immediately. They sputtered and disappeared, quickly saving the assembled crowd. 

But then Adora caught sight of the damage. One of the braziers had smashed into Angella’s mural, it’s magical fire scarring and burning the paint, leaving a blackened and scratched wall where the beautiful memorial to Glimmer’s mother had once stood. And beneath it, her daughter was crouched beside Ash, both kids staring up at the damage in horror. 

The fury that had been building inside Adora all night due to Catra’s antics exploded. She stormed across the grand hall towards the two children. Ash heard her first, his ears flicking and then he turned and scampered to his feet, scrambling behind Luna who stood a bit more slowly. She adjusted the crooked tiara as Adora approached, ducking her chin to avoid meeting her eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Adora’s voice boomed loudly around the deadly silent hall. “What did I say about this  _ not  _ being a game?”

She threw an arm out to gesture at the destroyed mural, and her daughter flinched.

“Look at this, Luna!” Watering blue eyes slowly rose to assess at the damage. “You’ve destroyed your own grandmother’s mural.  _ What were you thinking? _ Clearly, you weren’t. You never do!”

“I-It was my fault, Your Majesty,” Ash tried, his voice weak even though he puffed out his chest to appear bigger. “I pushed her… If I hadn’t--,”

Catra had followed her at some point, apparently, although Adora was too angry to notice--because she appeared suddenly and tugged Ash aside, shooting him a sharp ‘be quiet’ glare. Unlike her own daughter, Ash listened.

Grateful to the magicat for the first time tonight, Adora returned her attention to Luna. “I asked you for one thing tonight, Luna. One thing! And you couldn’t even--For a few hours!-- I don’t know what to do with you anymore!"

Suddenly Luna jerked upright, her wide eyes looking past Adora. Confused, the blonde turned to see her wife approaching, eyes on the ruined mural. The crowd parted for her like a wave, silent condolences in their eyes. 

“Glim,” Adora reached for her, but Glimmer passed her without acknowledgment, the grief wafting off of her in waves. 

Adora slumped, watching as Glimmer approached the ruined image of her mother. The only one in the castle, resting one hand against it’s charred surface. She stood there silently for what felt like an eternity until finally her fists clenched and her shoulders began to shake.

“Glimmer--,”

“Mom--,”

Luna and Adora took a step forward at the same time, only to freeze when Glimmer turned to face them. Her eyes were full of tears and instead of the righteous fury Adora had expected, she just looked...disappointed.

It somehow hurt much worse, 

Before either of them could say anything else, Glimmer was gone. A flash of dull sparkles the only thing that signified she’d been there at all.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Micah murmured from somewhere behind Adora and then he was gone too. The crowd began to mumble again, dispersing slightly...some permanently, as they headed for the doors. Adora reasoned she could probably get the party going again, but what was the point? The atmosphere was demolished along with Angella’s burnt mural.

Princess Prom had been ruined once again.

* * *

Glimmer was beyond frustrated. She was furious, grief-stricken… But mostly defeated.

On instinct she’d teleported to the gardens. It used to be her mother’s garden. She still vividly remembered running through the flowers as a child while Angella tended to them in the early days of the war. Now they were hers. She’d never considered herself much of a gardener, until she realized the unbroken serenity this part of the castle could offer her. Nowadays she found herself coming out here more and more often. The more her family argued, the easier it was to hide away and pretend like everything was the perfect future she’d imagined it to be. 

Materializing in the center of the gardens, Glimmer sat exactly where she’d appeared, running her hands through the soft grass as it swayed in the nighttime breeze. The large moons hung high above her head in a velvety black sky, looking down on her. The Moonstone glowed softly in the distance, it’s gentle thrum a comforting presence. She could feel it buzzing through her own body this close to it.

Closing her eyes, Glimmer struggled to stem the angry tears. She was upset with Luna for destroying Angella’s mural due to behavior akin to that of a small child, of course. But more than that, she was angry with Adora as well. More and more often it seemed the two did nothing but argue. And while Luna certainly didn’t make it easy, Adora was so quick to try to ‘correct’ their daughter. She didn’t take the time to try to understand her actions. She didn’t even seem to realize how similar she was to Luna. Especially when they’d been closer in age. Watching them argue was hard enough, not only as Luna’s other mother and Adora’s wife, but she found the sight reminded her too much of her final interactions with Angella.

While the two had a bit of a more cathartic separation in the portal universe, Glimmer still remembered how her last true conversation with her own mother had been one of stinging words and cutting accusations. In her final moments, Angella had thought that Glimmer considered her a coward. And Glimmer has  _ said _ as much. She’d never gotten to tell her mother how much she loved her. And appreciated her. 

Even if Angella could never return, Glimmer wished with everything inside of her, they could just have a moment to talk. Just so Glimmer could express how much she missed her, every day.

It worried her to see her own family beginning to argue so bitterly in recent years. If something were to happen… And the last thing Adora, or Luna, ever said to one another was something filled with hate… 

It hadn’t always been like this. Glimmer knew the drama started a few years ago when the true scope of Luna’s lack of powers seemed to grow like a poisonous seed inside their daughter. She hated herself. She hated feeling inferior. And no matter what they told her, or what they tried to do to prove her own worth, the seed grew. It had taken root deep inside her heart and was turning her against them. 

And Adora wasn’t helping by being so stubborn in retaliation. 

Now Glimmer was at a loss. Missing her mother, hurting for her family, she sat alone in the gardens and began to cry again. A gentle hand touched her shoulder just as they began to shake with sobs. 

Glimmer jumped only to relax as her father sat down beside her, his eyes weary but full of love. 

“Easy there, Angel,” he murmured, sitting close enough that their shoulders brushed and placing his hands in his lap. “Just me.”

Glimmer leaned against him immediately, head resting on his broad shoulder. It hadn’t taken them long to bond again once they’d defeated Prime and brought peace. While it was a little awkward at first, Micah had proven himself to be a loving, patient, and kind father. He was a lot like Glimmer in many ways, but he tempered her more explosive tendencies with years of wisdom. They’d hit their stride not long after and for that Glimmer was endlessly grateful. If she didn’t have him by her side all these years, she didn’t know  _ where _ she’d be.

Micah wrapped one arm around her shoulder, allowing her to cry before finally murmuring, “We can fix the mural. It’s just a little smoke damage.”

“It’s not really about that,” Glimmer sniffled in reply, wiping the worst of the tears away with her palm. “I’m just--So frustrated.”

“With Luna?”

Partially, yes. Glimmer decided to start there, so she nodded.

Micah hummed in reply, rubbing his bearded chin as he looked up at the sky.

“You know,” he began suddenly. “When you were very small, I remember the day you decided it would be a great test of your powers to teleport off the top of the North Tower. I don’t know if you had a plan for if… You couldn’t. You sure didn’t tell us. Or at least,” he chuckled, “We didn’t really give you a chance to explain it to us, if you did.” 

Glimmer glanced up at her father as he spoke, his own eyes still trained on the stars.

“Well, your mother flew up to catch you just as you sparkled off the roof. You appeared about ten feet below her in a free fall and she had to pull some truly impressive maneuvers to rescue you.”

“I did?” 

“You don’t remember?” Micah turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Maybe that’s for the best. Your mother was, rightfully, furious. She forbade you from teleporting for two whole weeks. And do you know what you did?”

Glimmer shook her head, although she could guess. 

“You teleported right out from under her nose and ran off into the Whispering Woods in a fit. Took us hours to find you. And when we did, you were asleep in a patch of violets at the edge of the Plumerian border.”

“Mom was probably even angrier then,” Glimmer murmured, the tears now leaking down her cheeks ones of remembrance.

“As I recall, she’d decided the anger wasn’t worth it, because she had you safe in her arms again,” Micah replied, squeezing Glimmer’s shoulder when she shivered. “I reminded her you were still young. I reminded her how she’d been just as excited about her own powers as a child. I told her we needed to be patient with you and you’d learn these lessons in your own time.”

“Subtle, Dad,” Glimmer chuckled, nudging him slightly. 

Micah shrugged. “I’m just telling you a story about your own childhood. If you see some random connections to your current situation, that’s a  _ you _ thing.”

They grinned at one another and then Micah pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, above the crown.

“Give her time. She’s still growing into who she will become. She’s  _ going _ to make plenty more mistakes after today. But she has to learn these things the same way you did.”

“It’s not just Luna. It’s Adora too,” Glimmer admitted with a heavy sigh. “I don’t want them to fight the way they do. I’m worried…”

Micah’s nod was solemn. He’d been made all too aware of Angella and Glimmer’s final moments together. “That’s something to discuss with Adora, then. Especially if it’s hurting you, Angel.”

Leaning against her father’s shoulder again, Glimmer glanced up at the stars, memories of the long journey to bring them back to Etheria rushing through her. “I guess I just thought things might be simple, after… everything.”

“Where’s the fun in simple?” 

Lips quirking, Glimmer closed her eyes, allowing herself a few more moments peace with her father before she’d return to the castle to face her family.

* * *

Luna stared down at the tiara in her hands. The jewel in the center gleamed in the moonlight streaming in through her window. She frowned down at the symbol of her responsibility, gripping it tightly, until the edges of the metal cut into her skin. Then she hurled it across the room, flinching as the metallic clang rang in her ears. She probably hadn’t broken it. But who cared if she had at this point. What else could she possibly ruin in one night?

Shrugging the stupid, wine stained dress off her shoulders, Luna bunched it up and tossed it in the direction of the crown. She slipped into her pajamas and then lay down in her bed, staring up at the large chandelier that hung from her ceiling. It used to be the spot where her mother’s bed hung. This  _ used _ to be her mother’s childhood bedroom. Her old targets still hung on the wall, much more used now that Luna consistently tossed her store of daggers at them for practice.

But the hanging bed she’d used...because… she could teleport….was no longer there. A powerless princess didn’t need one, after all. Normal bed for a normal girl. Luna clamped her hands over her face, willing the tears burning at the corners of her eyes to stop.

She felt guilty for destroying Angella’s mural. She didn’t know her grandmother, but Glimmer still loved her and spoke almost reverently of her. Seeing the way she’d broken down into tears just  _ looking _ at the damage.. .Luna felt her heart twist. But then Adora had to  _ yell at her _ , when it wasn’t even really her fault. And she wouldn’t even give her a  _ chance _ to explain. Instead choosing to embarrass them both in front of  _ kingdoms _ of strangers. And then subsequently grounded her, of course.

Luna half expected to hear Adora, or Glimmer, come knocking, to discuss what had happened. But there was nothing. Only the quiet whisper of wind outside her window. Rolling onto her side, Luna stared out at the stars, wondering where her friends had gone after tonight's events and when she’d possibly see them again…

/

Glimmer was already in bed by the time Adora made it back to their room. After sending Luna away, she’d managed to end the party as gracefully as she could, and then hung back in the Grand Hall until the worst of the damage had been removed from Angella’s mural. The deep scratch was still there and some of the char marks would require painting over, but it looked better than Adora suspected it might. Micah had returned and explained Glimmer was calm and had asked to simply retreat to their room for the night.

Adora’s heart had panged with guilt when she made her way past Luna’s room. She knew she should talk to her daughter, but the rage was still burning through her and she doubted anything productive would come of another ‘talk’.

So instead, she slipped inside her own room, quietly removing her ceremonial clothes and choosing her more comfortable sleep shirt and pants. Slipping into bed beside her wife, she was surprised to feel the tension still radiating off her in waves. Adora kept her distance, although she yearned to cuddle and comfort her wife.

Instead, she rolled onto her side, staring at the locks of sparkling hair that fell across the planes of Glimmer’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry about everything,” Adora murmured, the hand that lay between them on the mattress, tightening in the sheets. “Tonight was supposed to be perfect. I--I’ll get the mural fixed. I’m so sorry.”

A quiet, but deep, sigh slipped from Glimmer--Adora could see her shoulders sag in the dark.

“You should talk to her, Adora,” she said, in lieu of accepting her apology. “She  _ needs _ you to listen to her.”

“I need her to listen to  _ me _ ,” Adora shot back, the anger rising once more and making her cheeks burn.

“But you don’t,” Glimmer objected. “Neither of you listen to each other and it’s... It’s too hard to watch anymore.”

Adora’s heart jumped nervously in her chest when she heard Glimmer’s voice break. Reaching across the mattress, she touched the soft skin between her wife’s folded wings, stroking gently. 

“Glim, I’m  _ trying _ …”

“I know,” she sniffled, still turned away. “I just--I don’t want something to happen… And the last thing you ever said to her, or her to you, is something full of  _ hate _ … I don’t want either of you to carry that guilt the way I did… The way I  _ do _ .”

Forgoing caution, Adora sidled up behind her wife as a wave of her own grief engulfed her. “Oh, Glim… I’m sorry.”

Glimmer reached around, taking Adora’s arm and wrapping it around her waist, linking their fingers together as she allowed her wife to snuggle against her finally.

“Please try to talk with her tomorrow. Really talk, and listen. Please. She needs us here.”

Adora nuzzled a kiss against the back of her neck, the familiar words striking deep. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll try.”

Glimmer fell asleep not long after, leaving Adora to stare at the strands of sparkly hair before her eyes as she rehearsed what she might say to Luna the following morning. Glimmer was right, she always was. But talking with Luna felt more than impossible nowadays. 

Sometimes she wondered if there was  _ anything _ she could do to reach the daughter she’d once pulled back from the very brink of death.


	2. The Powerless Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Back!! 
> 
> Okay something I probably should have mentioned in the notes of chapter one... But this fic takes places after 'canon/the events of season 5' but... Not the ones presented in the show. I was HUGELY inspired by becca_the_quiet_one's rewrite of Season 5 which you can, AND SHOULD, read here:  
>  They Spill, Unfound  
> Because she was kind enough to let me use it as 'past events' for this fic, that'll be referenced....Anyway she's a genius pls go support her fic!!
> 
> Oh, also, this fic will contain many flashbacks to fill in the gaps. I'll do my best to make it clear!
> 
> I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter, thank you for the support so far!! :)

**7 Years Ago...**

Birthdays had been a relatively new concept for Adora, even long after Glimmer and Bow introduced her to them. As it turns out, every single one of her friends had a birthday. Sometimes they were close together too, so it was celebration upon celebration, cake upon cake, gifts upon gifts. Adora had been a little overwhelmed at first. Even during her own (which she still didn’t know exactly, but Bow and Glimmer had decided it was the day she officially joined the Rebellion to start her new life). 

Adora remembered having a panic attack during her first ‘real’ surprise birthday party. It had just been…a lot. Lots of noises, lots of people, lots of talking, and setting off fireworks, and laughter--and while Adora had felt guilty because those were all positive things, she’d still lost it. Glimmer had teleported them both out into the hallway, sitting with her until she’d calmed down enough to go back inside.

Every subsequent birthday since, Adora had gotten more and more used to raucous celebration. And now that was an especially good thing, considering the five children she knew (and the dozens of others she didn’t) currently scurrying like maniacs around the grounds of Mystacor, shouting and screaming and tackling each other into the grass.

Today was Luna’s 9th birthday and rather than have the castle ruined for a ninth time by the rambunctious youth of Etheria, Glimmer had convinced her Aunt Castaspella to host the celebration at Mystacor. After all, 9 was a big birthday, almost double digits. A big birthday deserved big space, big celebration. Mystacor has lucious fields, hot springs, rolling cloud wave beaches and best of all--a population of sorcerers well equipped to put on a magical light and firework show for the end of the party.

Or at least, that had been Glimmer’s reasoning. And Casta was quick to agree. Both women were currently in the kitchens, overseeing the construction of the cake Luna had requested. A giant 3-tier ice cream cake, the amount of sugar contained within Adora didn’t even want to imagine. 

Adora had taken her place with Mermista as ‘chaperone’, although with all the chaos, there was little she could do but make sure no one impaled themselves on anything sharp. Only a few of the other younger princesses had been invited to the party. But Mystacor had its own population of very young sorcery students ready to join in the fun. The other parents had formed mini entertainment ‘stations’ for all the kids. 

Seahawk was weaving masterful tales of adventure and danger, a crowd of wide eyed sorcerers (and his own son, Percy) gathered around him as he acted out the scenes he detailed. Scorpia was giving at least three children at a time piggyback rides. Bow was setting off some of his new trick tech (colorful smoke bombs that the kids ran through and stained their clothes). Perfuma had a flower crown weaving station (the only peaceful area of the party), and meanwhile Frosta had created and was monitoring an ice slide that at least a dozen other children had lined up for. Adora watched as her own daughter climbed to the very top, screeching with absolute glee as she slipped down the icy surface and into Frosta’s arms. Frosta tossed her up into the air, which only made Luna giggle harder, before catching her and sending her on to the next station. Adora had to smile at the sight. Frosta was now just a bit older than the same age they’d all been during the war. Nowhere near ready for her own kids, but still willing to play the super-cool ‘aunt’ they all adored.

Catra, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found - hiding away from the screaming kids with Melog somewhere, Adora assumed. But Ash was playing rampantly with the others. He’d currently set his sights on Luna, prowling after her unsuspecting daughter, before pouncing and knocking her into the grass. The two scuffled before beginning a frantic game of tag.

Glancing over at Mermista when her fellow chaperone gave an exaggerated sigh. Adora elbowed her gently. “Not having fun?”

“Why is it that your guys’ parties are always the craziest?” Mermista complained, ignoring her question. “Does _chaos_ just run in Glimmer’s genes, or - ?”

“Ours?” Adora laughed. “Seahawk literally set a boat on fire for the twins last year.”

Mermista waved a hand. “Seahawk always sets boats on fire. And we were surrounded by _water_.”

“Whatever you say.” Rolling her eyes fondly, knowing Mermista was enjoying watching her kids play, Adora returned her attention to the crowd when-

" _M_ _om_!” 

A resounding smack nearly threw Adora off balance as Luna careened into her, wrapping skinny arms tightly around her waist.

“Luna! Easy,” Adora chuckled, reaching down to untangle her daughter’s arms so she could kneel in front of her. “You okay?”

Luna’s blue eyes were wide, sparkling almost as brightly as Glimmer’s did naturally. She nodded fiercely, a beaming grin revealing one of her missing teeth.

“When is the cake?” Luna asked, her little shoulders still heaving from her chase with Ash. 

“Cake already? Don’t you want your gifts first?” Adora gestured to the table set up behind them with the pile of scattered, and prettily papered boxes, set atop it. Luna stared at the tower longingly and then nodded again.

“Okay,” Adora chuckled and squeezed Luna’s arms. “Well, when Mama gets out here with Aunt Casta, I’ll tell her you’re ready for presents and cake, sound good?”

“Yes!” Luna beamed, wiggling excitedly as Adora pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before turning her around and sending her back out into the fray. She watched with a smile as Luna bounced over to Willow, who had stayed mostly glued to Perfuma’s side, quietly weaving dozens of flower crowns and avoiding the chaos. Until now, as Luna tugged on her hand, leading the reluctant child over to Nerida, who had assembled a small crowd of children as she showed off her water control abilities. She was channeling a few shimmering orbs of water from a nearby pool, spinning them in the air in a display that was, admittedly impressive, for an 11-year-old.

A sudden chime and flash of sparkles signaled Glimmer’s approach, but Adora was so accustomed to the hum of her magic by now, she could practically feel the shift in the air moments before she appeared.

“Okay!” Glimmer began excitedly, not even taking a second to fully materialize before speaking. “Casta’s headed out here with the cake. It’s huge! The kids are gonna love it. I’m thinking we put it -,” she glanced around, “ - I need Frosta. Frosta!” 

Frosta looked up from her slide duty at the sound of Glimmer’s voice. She dissolved it to make sure no kids used it without her supervision and then trotted over to Glimmer’s side. 

“What can I do?” she asked, eager to assist Glimmer in whatever she might need. After all these years, Frosta still viewed Glimmer as a mentor more than anyone else. In fact, Adora thought maybe that had only grown stronger as they’d gotten older. 

“We need something to set the cake on, cold enough so it won’t melt. I think you’re the Princess for the job,” Glimmer teased her with a grin and Frosta nodded determinedly. 

“One epic ice table coming up, Your Majesty!” 

Lifting her arms, Frosta flexed her powers, creating an ornate and engraved ice table complete with a ‘Happy 9th Birthday Princess Luna’ on the side. 

“Perfect!” Glimmer gasped excitedly at the result, Adora gave Frosta a knowing eyebrow raise, but the ice Princess just beamed back innocently. It was then that Casta appeared, levitating the (truly enormous) cake with the help of a few other sorcerers. 

“And here we are,” she exclaimed, lowering the cake onto Frosta’s ice table. “The greatest ice cream cake in all of Etheria.” 

She stooped in an exaggerated bow and Adora fought not to roll her eyes. Casta had been on thin ice for nine years now, no matter how many ‘I’m sorry I contributed to your daughter’s stillbirth’ sweaters she sent. Adora knew it wasn’t entirely fair, it wasn’t entirely Castaspella’s fault...But neither Adora or Glimmer had been in charge of creating the seal that had broken during the ceremony, so Adora maintained her quiet grudge…

A sudden excited squealing from the amassed group of children drew their attention. Quiet little Willow had joined Nerida in creating a show out of her powers. She’d made a few flowery vines into a jungle gym that the kids were running around as Nerida continued juggling her water spheres. Percy was beside her now, adding streams of water through and around her own in a dazzling and brazen display akin to his father’s storytelling.

Some of the younger sorcery students had thrown in their own talent, tossing spells around in the air that crackled and exploded like fireworks. Others created little ethereal creatures, birds and bugs, that soared in and around the other's powers. Adora was watching in awe along with the other adults when suddenly she realized her daughter’s peachy blonde head was missing from the assembled crowd.

Glancing around, momentarily panicked, she caught sight of Luna standing apart from the others, watching the display with wide eyes. Her face was just as awed as the rest, but Adora noticed her tiny fists clenched tightly at her sides, entire body quivering slightly.

Hurrying to her side, Adora knelt down, touching Luna’s shoulder softly to draw her back to the present. The girl flinched nonetheless and then stared at her with enormous round eyes. 

“You okay, Lu?” Adora prodded and Luna looked down at her feet, her body still tense as a wire beneath Adora’s hand.

“How come I don’t have powers?” she mumbled almost too quietly for Adora to hear.

“What?”

“You just tell me I _don't,"_ Luna didn’t reiterate. “But not _why_. I’m a Princess too. But I don’t have any powers.”

Adora stared at her, heart sinking heavy in her chest. No, they hadn’t told her why. They hadn’t really _needed_ to before now. Luna had shown an awareness of her lack of powers years ago, but back then, when she was younger, it was easier to distract or dismiss.. Or help her acknowledge that she didn’t need them. But watching all the other kids her age display their talents in front of her… Adora realized there would be no distracting today.

“Honey, it’s okay,” she tried, gripping Luna’s shoulders and turning her to meet her eyes. “You don’t need powers -,”

Luna pulled away from her and - there were the tears - she looked back at the gathered princesses and sorcerers, her tiny chest heaving with frustration.

“Luna?” 

Glimmer appeared beside them. She’d walked, Adora noticed gratefully, maybe sensing their daughter’s distress before even realizing what the problem was. She saw Luna’s tears and pulled her forward. To no one’s surprise, Luna let Glimmer hold her without complaint, although her face was still scrunched and red with barely contained sobs. Adora knew she didn’t want to cry, especially not in front of all of her friends. But she also knew that Luna had _very big_ feelings, and that an explosion was probably moments away.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Glimmer murmured against Luna’s forehead. The girl whined indecipherably and Adora glanced over her shoulder to see that they were now also surrounded by Frosta, Bow and Casta - each one wearing a more concerned expression.

“It’s not fair,” she choked, clutching tiny fists at the waist of Glimmer’s outfit. “Why don’t I get powers too? What did I do wrong?”

Adora felt guilt twist in her gut. “Luna, no. It’s not your fault -,”

“Oh my,” Casta mumbled from behind them. “She’s _still_ not displaying any powers?”

Gritting her teeth, Adora just barely stopped herself from whirling on the brazen sorceress. Instead, she cast a tight warning smile over her shoulder. “Casta. Not now.”

“Well, I’m just saying,” Castaspella continued anyway. “Micah and I could perform simple spells by age 6 and Glimmer - She practically teleported out of the womb. You know, like I said, the blood offering part of the ceremony is the _most_ important--,”

Adora snapped around, rising to meet Casta, ignoring Glimmer’s warning hiss.“I’m not asking - I’m _telling_ you to stop, Casta,” she growled. “We both know that _you_ of all people shouldn’t be comparing your magical abilities to Luna’s…”

Casta scoffed, one offended hand flying to her chest. “I’m not sure I like what you’re implying, Adora.”

“Oh, you don’t like it?” Adora pressed forward. “Well I didn’t much like it either when my _child_ was born without a heartbeat. Do you think maybe a mastery of basic seals might have had anything to do with that?”

“Adora!” Glimmer’s harsh hiss cut her off and Adora glanced around at the small group. Casta’s face was red with indignation and probably embarrassment. Bow looked horrified by the callous anger coming from Adora and Frosta just looked sad. Her eyes were on Glimmer and Luna, who was now fully weeping into her mother’s shoulder.

“Firsts...,” Adora grumbled to herself, rubbing her face furiously as she inhaled a deep breath. “Casta… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that… I’m - Not here anyway. Not today. I - I’m sorry..”

Casta’s lips twisted into a flustered frown, but she nodded her acceptance.

“Bow, Frosta… Could you round everyone up for cake? We’ll take care of Luna.”

Frosta nodded solemnly and Bow followed her, patting Adora’s shoulder gently as he passed. Once they were gone, Adora knelt down beside her family again. Luna was buried as deeply as she could be in Glimmer’s arms, only her tiny ponytail poking out.

“Hey, Luna,” Adora tried, stroking the back of her head. “Can you look at me? Please?” 

Luna peeked out, her blue eyes now red rimmed and bloodshot. 

“I know it’s not fun to just watch all your friends play with magic, but just because you don’t have powers, that doesn’t make you any less amazing. This is _your_ party. All these people are here for you. Celebrating your birthday. The day _you_ came into our lives. We love you so much just the way you are.”

Luna’s eyes darted away, but her dying sniffles told Adora she was getting somewhere.

“You’ve still gotta eat your ice cream cake and open all your presents and play with Ash and Willow and -,” she leaned in conspiratorially, “- Swift Wind wanted me to keep his present a secret, but I’ll tell you now. He’s gonna fly you all the way to Thaymor and back.”

Reaching out her arms, Adora only had to wait a moment before Luna moved into her embrace, her wet cheek staining Adora’s. 

“We can talk about magic and powers later, okay? I promise. I want you to enjoy your birthday. Okay? Can you try?”

Luna sniffed loudly but nodded and pulled back to give Adora a determined look. Adora returned it before kissing her forehead tenderly and rising. Glimmer stood with her, lavender eyes sad, but still she pressed a quick and thankful kiss to Adora’s cheek. Together, they led Luna back to the others, the entire group bursting into cheers as she approached. 

The festivities began again and Luna’s smile quickly returned.

Adora could not say the same for her own.

* * *

Although the rest of her birthday party had gone smoothly, the agony of watching her peers flaunt their powers without her lingered on Luna’s mind for days afterward. The Moonstone caught her eye in passing much more often and as the days went by she found herself wondering why she hadn’t connected with it upon her birth. She’d heard her mother and Casta arguing on the birthday, but had been too absorbed by her own tears to make out what they were saying. Adora had mentioned a mess up spell or something afterwards, but Luna didn’t really understand what she meant, and she found that thinking about it just made her more upset.

After a few days, Luna decided it didn’t matter. If she hadn’t connected with it back then, she’d just connect with it now! A plan slowly came to mind and one night, when both Willow and Ash had come to visit under the pretense of a sleepover, she put her plan into action...

That night, Luna led a much more reluctant Willow and Ash out onto the Moonstone platform. The large runestone hummed before them, a faint luminescent glow surrounding it, casting ethereal shadows over the children as they approached it. Ash and Willow hung back, but Luna stepped forward, stopping when she was only inches away from the stone and peering up at it. The thrum of its energy pulsed in the air around them, but Luna couldn’t feel anything inside herself like her mother so often described. No slight buzz, or tingle, or pulse. She felt the same, even as the giant orb roiled above them.

Frowning, more determined than ever to _make_ it hear her, Luna turned around to face her friends. Ash still hoisted the ladder they’d stolen from the castle workshop under his scrawny arms.

“Are you guys ready?”

Ash and Willow glanced nervously at one another but nodded their assent.

“’Kay, let’s do it,” Luna directed Ash forward first. “Put the ladder here… Or, no. Wait, maybe a little more back? …If we’re sticking me to the side… Yeah, okay, put it here.”

Ash shuffled around to where Luna directed him, before setting the ladder down and propping it against the Moonstone’s edge. They waited, as if expecting it to respond to the intrusion, when it didn’t, Luna pulled out the roll of tape she’d also excavated from the workshop.

“Alright, Willow, you hold it for us. Ash, follow me up.”

Ash complied, ascending quietly after Luna as Willow, the largest of the kids, braced the bottom of the ladder for them.

“Are you guys _sure_ this is a good idea?” she whined after them as they approached the top.

“It’ll work, I know it,” Luna called back down, a bit too loudly for a secret mission in the dead of night.

“Okay, but, that’s not what I asked!” was Willow’s response. “I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“I’ll be fine!” Luna raised her arms, wrapping them as tightly as she could around the Moonstone’s broad surface and attempting to hold on. Her legs would dangle off the end, but that was fine. “Okay, Ash. Go.”

With a heavy sigh, Ash took the roll of tape from her and began placing strip after strip across her body.

“Use a lot, I gotta stick.”

“I _know_ ,” Ash shot back, as another ripping sound cut through the still night air.

It took…a while. The kids fell into silence; Ash concentrating on adding enough tape, Willow whimpering anxiously below, and Luna trying to ignore the strain in her arms as she held tight to the warm runestone. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ash stepped back and examined his work before climbing down.

“Okay, you ready?” he called back up.

Luna nodded, feeling the tape shift slightly… _terrifyingly_ , as the ladder was removed and her full weight dangled about ten feet off the ground. But Ash had done a thorough job because she held. A triumphant laugh bubbled out of her as she realized her plan’s success.

“It worked!”

“Now what?” Willow called up; anxiety clear in her voice.

Luna craned her neck to peek down at her friends. They were so small from up here.

“Uhh… We wait!”

“All night?” Ash questioned; the tired bags under his ears making it clear what answer he wanted want to hear.

“Yes,” Luna shot back. They’d gone over the plan a dozen times. “Or… Till it works! I dunno, it could be any minute now. I think I already feel something…”

It took her a second to realize the buzzing on her skin was simply the tape stretching and tearing out her arm hairs, but she decided not to reveal that to her friends. There was a loud tap as Ash set the ladder down and then he and Willow took a seat below her, quietly waiting for… _whatever_ might come next.

The silence only lasted about five minutes before Luna started to realize just how uncomfortable her current position was. Her arms were starting to lose feeling, the warmth of the Moonstone was making her sweat, which in turn was making the tape continue to slide… If she fell from this height--

“Uh, okay, new idea,” Luna called down. “Um, Willow! Shock me.”

“What?!” Willow’s voice reached a higher pitch than normal.

“Just a little one!” Luna insisted. “It’ll jumpstart the Moonstone and then it’ll jumpstart me! Come on. Willow. Do it, come on.”

“No!” Willow squeaked and Luna could hear her trademark tears building. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t! You’ll be helping me!”

"Luna…,” Willow’s whine tore at Luna’s heartstrings a bit, but she persisted.

“Willow, _please_ ? An itty bitty shock. Please. Willow… _Please_?”

Willow looked to Ash for help, but he just shrugged, seemingly too tired to argue against any of Luna’s schemes. Whining quietly, but unable to say no, Willow took a step forward and raised a shaking hand in Luna’s direction.

“You got this, Willow,” Luna encouraged. “I believe in you.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Willow released a blast of red electricity from her palm. It struck and surrounded the Moonstone and the Princess taped to it. Red light flared behind Luna’s eyelids, her body going stiff as electricity coursed through it. For a brief few seconds she couldn’t even breath, and it _hurt_ , her skin burned. And then it stopped and everything went black as the tape disintegrated and Luna hurtled to the ground.

* * *

Glimmer woke with a start, which in turn, startled Adora awake too.

“ _Whassat_?!” she cried out in a bleary haze, raising her fists as Glimmer practically leapt out of their snuggle.

Glimmer hunched over, one hand pressed over her chest, breath coming in quick pants. The sleep cleared much quicker as Adora registered the pain on her wife’s face.

“Glim?” She sat up too, placing a gentle hand on Glimmer’s back. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I don’t—I think the Moonstone—,” Glimmer looked up and then teleported out of bed to peer out the window. The Moonstone pedestal was clearly visible from their quarters and apparently what Glimmer saw out there was enough to cause a panic because the teleported back to the closet, threw on a robe, and then blinked out of the room before Adora had even lowered her hand back to the mattress.

Throwing off the covers, Adora dashed to the window to see what had her wife so concerned. A flash of sparkles appeared on the pedestal as Glimmer materialized over what Adora could vaguely make out as the shapes of Ash and Willow. All three of them hunched over another figure. One Adora didn’t need to see to know was her own daughter.

Exasperation and concern flowed through her in equal measure, as they usually did with Luna as of late. Fear for her safety usually outweighed the frustration stemming from her hairbrained schemes. But right now, the fact that she was lying prone on the pedestal, utterly still—brought back too many memories for Adora to be truly frustrated.

She just bolted back to grab her own robe when the familiar chime of Glimmer’s teleports rang in her ears, and then in a flash all four had appeared in their bedroom. Glimmer was carrying Luna against her shoulder, the 9-year-olds gangly limbs swaying lifelessly as Glimmer carried her to the bed.

“What happened?” Adora tried to keep the panic out of her voice. She knew she was not successful in the way Glimmer’s wings bristled in response.

“I’m SO SORRY,” Willow wailed, clutching her tail from where she and Ash stood in the same spot Glimmer had teleported them all. “She _asked_ me to do it! I thought it was gonna help her.”

Adora blinked at the wailing princesses, confused, but not so callous as to not try comforting her. She crossed the room, trusting Glimmer to handle Luna, and dropped onto her knees in front of Willow.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re not in trouble, Willow,” she placed a hand on the young girl’s freckled shoulder. “I just wanna know what happened. Can you tell me that?”

Willow sniffed and nodded, wringing her hands around her tail. “Luna wanted to connect to the Moonstone.”

“We thought if she touched it all night it might fuse with her,” Ash added, making a ‘whooshing’ sound as he connected his hands to demonstrate. “So we taped her to it.”

“You taped—,” Adora trailed off, holding back her sigh. “And she fell?”

“Willow shocked her,” Ash shrugged.

“SHE TOLD ME TO,” Willow sobbed loudly again. “I didn’t mean to _hurt her_. I’m so sorr—,”

“Willow,” Adora cut her off, soothing her again. “It’s alright. This isn’t your fault. Okay?”

“She’s got burns though,” Willow dipped her head, guilt radiating off the young girl in waves.

Adora wished she could comfort her more, convince her that her daughter’s ridiculous impulses weren’t her responsibility, but the Princess appeared fairly inconsolable. She curled inward on herself as Ash began patting her back comfortingly.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Luna’s stupid, that’s not you’re fault…”

Leaving Willow to Ash, Adora returned to the bed where Glimmer was hovering fretfully over their unconscious daughter. As Willow had said, a few red shiny burns dotted Luna’s skin. They didn’t look bad, they would heal easily even without the help of Bright Moon’s healers, but she was still out cold.

“She’s breathing,” Glimmer murmured, mostly to herself, even as Adora sat down on the mattress beside Luna. “Her pulse is normal. I think she’ll be okay? Should we take her to the healers? Willow caught her when she fell apparently. She didn’t break anything but—,”

“Glim,” Adora touched her wife’s arm. “She’ll be okay. It was just a little shock. Just give her a sec.”

Glimmer nodded, but bit her lip, glancing down at their unconscious daughter. Just then, Luna began to stir. Her face scrunched and she groaned as the fall and the burns probably came back to her in full force. In the next instant she blinked watery blue eyes open and then she began to shake with pained sobs. Glimmer scooped her up immediately, murmuring comfortingly to her as she cradled the child who was now far too big for cradling in her lap.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Adora returned to the other two kids and guided them back to Luna’s room. The sleepover they’d arrange with Perfuma, Scorpia and Catra now ruined by Luna’s antics, Adora did her best to tuck the two in and assure them all would be well in the morning. The two watched her with wide, guilt ridden eyes, remaining silent as if any further explanation of tonight’s events _would_ get them in trouble.

By the time Adora had managed to get them to sleep and return to her own room, she found her daughter passed out against Glimmer’s shoulder. Glimmer had taken her (slightly singed) hair out of it’s ponytail, combing her fingers through it soothingly.

“Is she okay?” Adora asked, plopping down on the pillows beside her family, placing one gentle hand on Luna’s skinny calf.

“She’s fine,” Glimmer whispered, so as not to wake her. “Shaken up, but fine.”

“ _Why_?” Adora sighed, not needing to clarify what she was asking, her heart aching in her chest.

Glimmer just shrugged.

“I knew she was bothered by the… powers... at the party, but I didn’t realize how badly.”

There was guilt written on her wife’s face that Adora wanted to kiss away.

“It’ll be okay, Glim. It’s just a little jealousy. We’ll talk to her in the morning. She doesn’t need powers.” Adora wanted to take the words back the moment she said them. She knew first hand what the dangers of a desperate person without powers, and crippling inferiority, looked like…

“I know that. _You_ know that,” Glimmer mumbled sadly, kissing the top of Luna’s head. “But does she?”

Adora sagged against the mattress. Somewhere deep down inside, she knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Her daughter was stubborn and headstrong. Talking her out of her lack of powers… Worse yet, explain why she was born without them—

It wasn’t a conversation Adora was ready to have. But if tonight was any indication, she was well out of time.

* * *

Luna was hoping to wake up and realize that Princess Prom had been nothing more than a bad dream. Unfortunately, the second she opened her eyes, she caught sight of the red wine and black smoke stains on her white dress crumpled at the foot of her bed and it all came roaring back.

Slapping both hands over her face, Luna dragged them slowly down her cheeks. It was still early, judging from the weak rays of sunlight pouring in through her window. She suspected either Glimmer or Adora would come in eventually to discuss last night and her subsequent punishment. Adora had already told her she was grounded, and Luna had been grounded enough times to know that meant ‘no leaving your room until we discuss it further’.

So she lay staring at the chandelier hanging from her ceiling, replaying last night's events, her stomach coiling into a tighter and sicker knot with each passing moment. The livid anger in Adora’s voice, the stares of _hundreds_ of strangers, the pain and disappointment on Glimmer’s face, the gash in Angella’s mural. It began playing in a loop, spiraling faster and faster until Luna was unable to escape, her entire being absorbed in the sickening and embarrassing images.

Groaning, Luna rolled onto her side, burying her face in the pillows in an attempt to block out the world when a loud knock came from her door followed by a stern, “Luna? Are you awake?”

Well if she hadn’t been, she was now, considering the _volume_ of Adora’s voice. Heaving a sigh, Luna pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and called back, “Am now!”

She should have known that one of her mothers would be by to discuss last night’s events. Adora had already grounded her last night, but Luna was certain she’d reiterate the punishment, give her a stern lecture, make some half-hearted attempt to smooth over the animosity between them and then avoid talking to her for the rest of the day. That was how things always went between them nowadays. It was almost formulaic.

Get busted, argue, sweep it under the rug, repeat.

Luna had to wonder how much longer they could go on like this before something snapped for good. She didn’t have much more time to muse, as the bedroom door opened and Adora stepped inside. She was already dressed for the day in her regal lavender and white tunic, long blue cape falling from her shoulder, golden pauldrons gleaming in the morning sunlight. Luna tore her eyes away, hunching and glaring at the floor instead as Adora approached on stilted legs and then sat on the mattress beside her. 

She chose an odd distance. Far enough away that they weren’t touching, but too close considering the unspoken animosity between them. Luna felt the hairs on her arms rising in discomfort.

“We need to talk about last night,” Adora began, voice firm. “About what happened… Your mother is very upset, Luna.”

Luna’s shoulders slumped in disgrace. For as frustrated as she was with Adora, the last thing she wanted to keep thinking about was the look of utter disappointment on Glimmer’s face.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” Luna defended herself weakly, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

“Why didn’t you just _listen_ to what I told you to do?” Adora replied, the firm edge of her voice replaced with desperation. “I told you to take the party seriously. To treat it like a duty. No games, no messing around… Just behave like a Princess for once.”

“I _do_.”

“Not when it matters. Not when I ask you to. I don’t tell you these things to be strict, Luna. I’m trying to help you. Why do you have to fight me at every turn?”

“I’m not fighting you!” Luna shot back.

“You’re arguing right now,” Adora countered.

“I’m _trying_ to explain what happened! I was just—having fun, I didn’t do it on purpose. Anyone could have knocked those torches over.”

“But _you_ were the one that did, because you were running around like a child, Luna. And you’re not anymore. You’re the heir to a throne. You’re 16 years old. It’s time you start acting your age and _listen_ when we ask things of you.”

The words made her furious. How could her mother talk about listening when she wouldn’t even listen herself? But, knowing she’d lose another fight, Luna simply glared harder at the floor and remained silent.

“Do you even understand the gravity of what you did last night? What that mural means to all of us?”

Luna tucked her chin against her chest and fumed quietly, refusing to give her mother the satisfaction of an answer.

Adora waited a moment, clearly expecting one. When she didn’t get it, she heaved a sigh, clasping her own hands in her lap.

“You’ll apologize to your mother and your grandfather this morning. You’ll be under curfew and confined to the castle grounds for at least two weeks. And you will help repaint the mural once the damage is taken care of. Is that clear?”

Nails biting into her palms—Adora hadn’t even asked her for her feelings on the matter—Luna slammed her eyes shut and nodded. “Yes.”

Adora paused again and then Luna felt a light touch on her shoulder. Adora’s palm rested against her back, fingers grazing the scars on her right wing. Luna flinched away. She hadn’t really meant to… She realized Adora was probably trying to bridge the gap a moment too late, but she’d already shrugged her off.

Adora’s face hardened and she drew back, holding her hand as if she’d been burned. “Alright then. Get dressed and… Find your mother as soon as you can.”

Luna didn’t look up, waiting until the clack of boots faded behind a closed door before turning around and throwing a few harsh punches at her pillow. After it had been beaten into a feathery pulp, Luna threw herself down face first into the mattress, fighting back frustrated tears. If someone would just _listen_ to her for once… Maybe she’d actually be willing to cooperate. Until then, Bright Moon felt less and less like a home every day.

* * *

Glimmer found Adora stalking through the east wing, coming from the direction of their daughter’s room. She’d risen early with the intention of talking to her, Glimmer knew. But judging from the scowl on Adora’s face, it had not gone well. Glimmer waited, letting the blonde approach, almost surprised when the dark look didn’t fade immediately as she registered Glimmer in front of her.

“Did you talk to her?” Glimmer prodded, gently so as not to set Adora off. 

It didn’t seem to help.

“I tried,” Adora scoffed, crossing her arms. “For once, she refused to talk _back_. I did what I could.”

Glimmer blinked, her pulse beginning to quicken in… anger? It wasn’t a feeling she was used to associating with her wife, but the frustration with the situation was dawning on her. “So… Nothing changed. You’re both still upset.”

“Glim, I’m _trying_ ,” Adora threw her arms out. “But she has to meet me halfway. I can’t make her to talk to me. If she wants to sit there and sulk about it there’s nothing I can do to—,”

“Adora, are you even listening to yourself?” Glimmer cut her off, anger bubbling out of her making her body burn. “Why are you being so stubborn? She needs you to be there for her." 

“I am there for her. Are _you_ listening to _me?_ She won’t _talk_ to me, Glimmer,” Adora shot back, voice rising. “If you want to work things out with her so badly, why don’t _you_ try?”

“Because I’m not the one who’s _losing her relationship_ with our daughter!” Glimmer’s iridescent wings flared out behind her with a rush of air as she shouted.

Both women stood back, blinking as the truth in Glimmer’s words echoed around the empty hallway. Adora’s blue eyes went wide, momentarily filled with pain, and then they hardened, and she glanced away, fists clenching at her sides.

“I’m doing my best.”

“Maybe…,” Glimmer squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on bottling the anger. “Maybe it’s not enough.”

“Then I don’t know what you want from me,” Adora looked up with a fierce scowl and then she was pushing past Glimmer, trudging down the hall, leaving fury in her wake.

Glimmer looked after her wife, hurt replacing the burning frustration. If it wasn’t hard enough to see Adora and Luna fight, it was even more painful to be at odds with her wife as well. Glimmer loved her wife, more than anything - nearly nineteen years by her side hadn’t changed that. She’d grown accustomed to Adora’s habits and behaviors. Even the annoying ones. She’d learned to love her nobility, kindness and bravery even more; and grown to appreciate her stubbornness, pride and sometimes downright thickheadedness… As time passed, the steadfast love that they’d shared from the beginning of their friendship changed and aged with them. Glimmer had never been afraid of ever truly losing it before now. But the more Luna grew bitter, the more she and Adora argued, the more Glimmer worried about the strain on their own relationship.

Nineteen years since the day Adora’s love had pulled her back from death inside the chamber of the Heart itself, and Glimmer could still remember it, still _feel_ it, as if it were yesterday. She loved her stubborn wife, her stubborn family, dearly. But if something didn’t change soon… Things were bound to break. 

Before Glimmer could think to go after Adora to smooth things over, General Aveline appeared with a frantic, “Your Majesty! There you are! The officials from the kingdom of Colonia are here to discuss trade routes! If you’d come with me—,”

Sighing, Glimmer turned and followed the General, leaving the conversation with her wife to hang stale and dark in the air.

* * *

Luna got dressed (after a quick, frustrated cry) and made her way down to the main hall in search of Glimmer. The sooner she got her apologies out of the way the better. She passed the various murals and statues attributed to her parents and their friends without looking up. She knew each one by heart now, having spent hours of her childhood running down these halls, striking the same poses the heroes of the past held for all eternity. It wasn’t until she passed the pedestal that held her mother’s old sword that she looked up.

The blue blade glowed slightly, it’s shattered pieces carefully reassembled and forged back together although the cracks remained--light blue streaks in it’s otherwise smooth surface. Luna knew Adora didn’t need her old sword anymore, she could create one of her own through She-Ra’s power. But at the beginning of her journey, this sword had been the key to her destiny. Luna stopped, turning to face the sword, inching closer, ears straining as if she might be able to hear the same voice her mother had upon first seeing it.

But it was silent, staring back at her through her reflection in the runestone at the hilt. Luna wondered what the steel might feel like underneath her palm. She’d never been allowed to touch the sword. It was too large and dangerous. And beside that, the entire kingdom held it in high regard. A relic of an older era, a precious artifact from the past. Even still, Luna found herself reaching out… entranced by the pulsing blade. If she could just touch the surface for a moment…

“Still pretty impressive, even with all the cracks, huh?”

Jerking back as quickly as if she’d been branded with an iron, Luna spun around to see her grandfather standing a few feet away. He looked at her casually, hands folded behind his back, the tiny smirk beneath his beard the only sign that he knew exactly what she’d been about to do.

“Uh, yeah. Yes! Yeah, cool… I--,” It struck her, as Luna stared into her grandfather’s kind eyes, that he was one of the many who deserved an apology from her this morning. 

Taking a few steps back from the sword, Luna bowed her head respectfully. “I wanted to apologize… a - about last night. For, um, for ruining Grand - Ange - Uh, the Queen’s mural. I didn’t mean to. I was - I know it means a lot to you… _She_ means... _meant_ , uh, that is - She was your _wife_ , so it would make sense that - ”

Luna looked up when she heard Micah chuckling, surprised to see genuine mirth twinkling in his dark eyes. “Did you practice that one all morning or - ?”

“I - I’m sorry, I -,”

Flushing, her cheeks burning, Luna was fully prepared to turn and run with her tail tucked between her legs when Micah moved towards her. He placed one firm and warm hand between her shoulders and guided her down the hall.

“Come on,” he chuckled as Luna looked up at him in confusion. “Let’s take a walk.”

Micah led her out through the castle towards the pools and waterfalls that surrounded Bright Moon. Luna used to play here (with supervision) as a child, chasing the colorful fish that swam around near the water’s surface. Often falling in during the process, or pushing Ash or Willow in--whomever happened to be there at the time. Once again, Luna found herself wondering where her friends had ended up after last night’s events.

So lost was she in her own memories, that she didn’t realize Micah was speaking again until his muffled voice suddenly rang clear in her ears and she whipped around to face him.

“Huh?”

“I said,” Micah released her and approached the waters edge. “Would you like to try fishing again?”

Luna glanced around, confused by the fact that:

A.) Her grandfather had brushed off her sincere apology with barely an acknowledgment and -

B.) There didn’t seem to be anything around to fish with.

“We don’t have any poles…,” Luna murmured, staring at him dumbly.

Micah squinted at her, his smile amused beneath his gray beard. “Come on now, Luna. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to fish. I know it’s been a few, well - admittedly, _years_ , since we’ve done it. But you know we don’t need poles.”

Luna was quickly reminded as Micah waved his hands, forming a purple glowing sigil in the air and then lowering it into the water. He waited for a few seconds, before tightening his fist and then raising both arms again. The sigil had become a purple sphere, and as it broke the water’s surface, Luna saw a wiggling golden fish caught within.

Her grandpa turned to her, grinning and pointing at the catch, “Ah?!”

Luna forced a smile back. She hadn't forgotten fishing. Micah used to take her out here often in an attempt to teach her sorcery in the most entertaining way he could imagine. When they’d all come to the realization that Luna would not connect to the Moonstone, and seemed to have no incarnation of Adora’s own She-Ra magic either, Micah had done his best to train her in the art of sorcery. It hadn’t worked.

Because of course it hadn’t.

Nothing ever did. Luna _could not_ do magic, it seemed. Of any sort. An entirely _normal_ heir to the throne of an _entirely_ magical kingdom. 

The last time they’d gone ‘fishing’ when Luna was thirteen, it had ended in screams and tears of utter frustration. Luna flushed; embarrassed just thinking about it. She knew Micah was simply trying to cheer her up, to accept her apology and bond again… But this wasn’t at all how she wanted to spend the morning. Feeling the full extent of her uselessness, after being punished for it the night before was not ideal ‘grandpa bonding time’.

“I.. I still need to go find Mom,” Luna said, taking a step away from the floating fish and trying to ignore the painful way Micah’s face fell. “Say sorry and stuff.”

Before she could turn, Micah called out to her, his voice solemn, “Luna.”

She looked up, and Micah released the fish, the sparkle gone from his eyes as he took a seat by the waters edge. “Come sit with me for a minute.”

Inhaling, Luna tentatively joined Micah by the pool, sitting beside him in silence for a bit. She waited anxiously at first, until the constant trickle of water, splash of the falls and sway of the reeds in the morning breeze began to lull her into a sense of peace. Micah seemed to feel it too, he sat staring into the pools, thick brows furrowed, before finally speaking to her.

“I know that there’s a lot of pressure on you,” he began. “There… Always has been for an heir of Bright Moon. Your mother felt it too when she was young. And do you want to know what her response to it all was?”

“What?” Luna murmured curiously.

“To become the most rebellious Commander that _the_ ‘Rebellion’, or _her_ own mother, had ever seen.” Luna cracked a tiny smile and Micah followed suit. “I know you feel disconnected from your family, Luna. From this Kingdom. But I see so much of both of them in you. You don’t need powers to be as brave, or as strong, or as - reckless as them.”

Luna appreciated his words, but as hard as Micah tried, he didn’t understand her either. No one did. Not everyone in Etheria had powers or magic. But not everyone was a Princess either. Not everyone was _supposed_ to have them. Not everyone had been born as broken as she was.

Deciding not to try to explain her inner turmoil to her poor grandfather, Luna deflected, keeping her gaze on the fleeting shadows of fish. “I’m sorry about the mural… I really am. I wouldn’t - disrespect her like that on purpose…”

Micah inhaled deeply through his nose before responding. “I see a lot of Angie in you too, you know. At least in her younger years. Old people like she and I get a little wiser as time passes.” He offered Luna a teasing wink.

“What was she like?” 

Micah’s smile grew sad. “She was fair, kind, a dedicated mother, a proud ruler, patient -,”

“None of that sounds like me,” Luna snorted, poking Micah’s cheek, like she’d so often done as a baby who was fascinated by his beard.

“- Brave,” he finished, poking her right back. “And headstrong… How’s that?”

“Better,” she snickered.

“The mural can be fixed. And it will be,” Micah mused, a sudden frown wrinkling his brow. “What is in more danger of being damaged is your relationship with your mothers.”

Luna’s shoulders fell. That wasn’t her fault. Not entirely anyway. Micah had to know that, he’d just pointed out how alike they all were.

“I just want you to be careful, Luna. Family is the most important thing we have. Losing them, fracturing your relationships with them… It’s a painful thing. And it can be permanent. Just keep that in mind, okay? That’s all I ask.”

Luna simply nodded, allowing Micah to pull her into a firm side hug. It was barely nine in the morning and she was already exhausted, emotionally worn out and wanting nothing more than to crawl back in bed.

But it was at that moment that Ash appeared as if from nowhere, bounding across the fields (at a safe distance from the pools) to greet them.

“Luna!” he panted, coming to a halt beside the duo. “Uh… Your uh, Kingliness…” He dipped into an awkward bow that Micah waved off before returning his attention to Luna. “You gotta come to the gardens now.”

“Why?” Luna stood, pushing herself up from Micah’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Uh,” Ash’s yellow eyes flickered to Micah. “ _Nothing_ … Just, um, you…. Have to come. With me. Uh, right now. For no reason.”

Luna stared at him, eyes narrowed in confusion and Ash _glared_ back, trying silently to communicate.

“Alright, alright,” Micah stood, breaking up the face off. “Go ahead, Luna. We’ll fish another time. Just… Try to remember what I said, alright?”

“Yes, okay, yes,” Luna promised as Ash grabbed her elbow and began dragging her off. “I will! Thank you, bye! Can you tell Mom if you see her that - ”

Ash pulled them up the stairs before she could finish her thought and then Micah was out of sight.

“What’s the big deal about the gardens?!” Luna turned to run with him, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

“Catra has something for you,” Ash tossed over his shoulder, eyes gleaming as he gave her a sly grin.

“Is it what remains of my dignity?” Luna drawled.

Ash laughed. “Like you had any to begin with.”

Luna lunged for him, scoffing, but Ash leapt away nimbly, leading her on an all out game of chase. When they tumbled into the gardens together, they nearly slammed into Melog who was curled in a warm, sunny, patch of daisies. They leapt up, and growled, before calming upon seeing who had ruined their peaceful slumber.

“Sorry Melog,” Ash crouched to pet the creature, still holding Luna off easily with one hand as she scrabbled to tackle him. “Where’s Catra?”

Melog blinked at them and then turned and trodded deeper into the gardens, towards the greenhouse. The two kids followed, finally catching sight of Catra sitting cross-legged in the heart of the garden itself. She was very still, save for the gentle swish of her tail. Her large ears flicked when she heard them approaching and she stood, brushing the dirt and dust from her pants. Luna noticed she’d switched her fancy princess prom outfit, for her well worn and familiar travel gear. Luna had always found the long forest green scarf to be the coolest part…

“You found her,” was Catra’s greeting as Ash and Luna approached. 

“Yeah,” Ash continued on when Luna stopped, moving to stand beside his adopted mother as she placed a clawed hand on top of his spiky head. “I saved her from a lecture from her gramps.”

Luna rolled her eyes at the two magicats. “Believe it or not, Micah was the _least_ of my problems today.”

“Oh no, I believe it,” Catra raised her brows. “I’m sure...uh, Adora?...Had some choice words for you this morning?” 

“You’d be right,” Luna huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Woke me up bright and early to tell me what a big stupid screw up I am.”

“That mural _is_ pretty busted,” Catra gave her a wry grin that faltered when Luna looked away, shoulders hunching. Moving closer, Catra placed a reassuring hand atop Luna’s head, ruffling her hair. “Okay… Hey, forget last night. It was a mistake, but it’s not irreversible and everyone will calm down in a few days once it gets fixed up. For now… I figured since you’re probably - grounded?” she paused to check and Luna nodded bitterly. “Grounded, yes. Perfect. Because I just picked up these bad boys in the Waste…”

Turning around, Catra bent to pick up two shiny bits of metal that Luna hadn’t noticed were nearly buried in the grass. She displayed them with a flourish and a loud “Aha!” Two twin blades, pure rippling metal and golden hilts.

“Woah!” Luna’s eyes practically bugged out of her head and Ash nodded smugly, as if Catra were showing off something he’d created.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Catra handed her one of the blades hilt first. “Check it out. Feel the weight.”

“This is so -,” Luna took it, savoring the cool metal before stepping back and giving it a few sloppy swings. “It’s so light!” 

“Yup. The perfect blade for a beginner, and -,” Catra twirled the twin blade she still held. “- Ash has been telling me how badly you’ve been wanting to learn to spar. And since you’ve got _so much_ more free time now that you’re grounded. I thought it might be a good opportunity for the Princess of Bright Moon to learn how to defend herself.”

Luna stared down at her reflection in the blade’s mirror-like surface. Excited blue eyes stared back. Frowning, Luna handed the sword back. “It’s peacetime. Mom says I don’t need to learn to defend myself.”

She spoke it robotically. She didn’t believe it. It had just been repeated to her _time after time._ There were no wars in Etheria anymore. She wouldn’t never need to fight in one. Or lead a Rebellion. Or travel to unknown lands. Or fend of bandits or - All the things she so badly yearned to do.

Catra’s eyes flickered down to the sword and then she pushed it back with her own. “Since when do you care about what Adora thinks?”

“I don’t! I mean - I do, but - I’m… Mom won’t even spar with me. She says it’s too dangerous for my 'health' or whatever. And...this is a _real_ sword -,”

Ash and Catra exchanged bemused glances.

“Man, last night really put the fear of the Firsts into you, huh?” Ash smirked, tail lashing.

Luna shot him a glare. “No! I just don’t want to get caught and get _extra_ grounded.”

“So then we won’t get caught...,” Catra hummed from her other side, flicking the blade out until it tapped against Luna’s own with a satisfying ‘ting’. Luna felt the sword vibrate in her hands, her heart beginning to pound.

“Catra let me use my first knife when I was three,” Ash added, his smirk growing somehow wider and more smug.

Luna didn’t know exactly why she was arguing against learning how to fight when she’d been begging for her mother to train her seriously for _years._ But still the words slipped out, “Well, my mom -,”

“One of your moms was training with real weapons by the time she could walk and the other was leading an army in her teens. So..,” Catra’s bi-colored eyes gleamed. “The call is yours… I just figured you had some big She-Ra sized boots you wanted to fill….”

The offer hung in the air, ringing in Luna’s ears as she stared down at the shimmering blade. A slow and determined grin grew on her face as the other apologies she was supposed to make today slipped from her mind.

Only one thing mattered now.

“Alright.” 

Smirking, brow furrowed with determination, Luna lowered herself into the best fighting stance she could muster, sword arm braced. “Let’s do this.”

Catra’s own smile was equal parts proud and amused. “Good choice. But, uh… Wow. Okay... Let’s start with form.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts, comments, critique are more than welcome!


	3. Fractures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello... It's been a month, I'm so sorry. I have no idea what happened...  
> I hope this very long chapter makes up for it :(

Training with real swords was undeniably the coolest thing Luna had ever done.

Probably also the most dangerous…But still.

After a week of being (secretly) kicked around by Catra, her hands and arms were covered in dozens of knicks and cuts. Catra never held back around her, which was one of the things Luna appreciated most. But it also meant she was going to need to be way more careful about disguising her injuries if she wanted to keep getting away with training.

Even after a short time, Luna already felt a boost in her mood and subsequent confidence. There was something liberating about the growing strength in her limbs and quickening reflexes. A week wasn’t enough time to turn her into a warrior, but training with Catra gave her a drive and purpose she hadn’t felt in a long time.

And so she managed to work on her grandmother’s destroyed mural that morning with a smile quirking her lips as she went over drills in her head. She’d donned a pair of worn fingerless gloves to cover most of the cuts on the backs of her hands, and despite the summer heat, she’d chosen to wear more of her long sleeved uniforms nowadays to hide the slashes on her arms. Not that any of it mattered to her. She scrubbed away determinedly at the soiled paint, swiping at it in the same sword form that Catra had been attempting to teach her over the last few days.

It had been a busy week in Bright Moon. Both of her parents were pulled away more often than not for endless meetings. Glimmer had been making diplomatic trips to the kingdom of Colonia in order to strengthen their current allyship. As such, Luna hadn’t seen her around enough to truly apologize for the events of Princess Prom.

Meanwhile, Adora, in her wife’s absence, had taken over many of the day to day duties, meaning Luna was free to spend her ‘grounding’ sneaking out past the gardens to train with Catra (and Ash).

The sooner she finished with the mural, that faster she could get back to—

A sudden chime startled Luna so badly, she nearly dumped the entire can of paint stripper onto the floor. She caught the wobbling can just in time, whirling around to face whoever had nearly ruined the mural further. When she realized the familiar chime and now ethereal figure standing above her was the Queen, Luna shot to her feet—knocking over the paint stripper again in the process. Luckily, it spilled around her feet and not over the already decimated mural. Luna looked down, watching the liquid stain her boots, before snapping back to attention and flushing as she caught the look of vaguely amused second-hand embarrassment on her mother’s face.

“Uh… Hi,” Luna didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she offered an awkward wave. “Sorry I… Wasn’t—I thought you were gonna be in Colonia all day.”

“I was,” Glimmer admitted, stooping to right the can before rising and doing the thing Luna hated where she fixed her (admittedly) crooked collar and attempted to brush the messy bangs from her face. “But the great thing about teleporting is that it really cuts down on travel time.”

Luna tried not to drown under the desire to know what it was like to be able to flash effortlessly across Etheria. Instead, she swallowed her nerves and gently moved her mother’s hands away from her face. “I’m—uh—I never got to apologize to you for… Ruining grandma.”

She gestured vaguely back at the burned and scratched mural, averting her eyes so that she didn’t have to see the sparkle in her mother’s dim.

“I’m sorry,” Luna murmured, studying her paint stained boots. “It was an accident.”

A few moments of anxiety including silence passed, and then—just as Luna was considering turning to run—she felt her mother’s hands on her cheeks again, guiding her to look up. Luna did with hesitance, waiting until the last possible moment to finally meet Glimmer’s lavender eyes. It was strange to remember, in tiny intimate moments like these, that she was the same height as the Queen now. Granted, Glimmer was significantly shorter than Adora, but the fact that Luna could look her in the eye sometimes rattled her. Especially since she still somehow felt so small around Glimmer, in every way she possibly could.

Before she could think to say anything, Glimmer pulled her forward, pressing her lips to Luna’s forehead in a gentle kiss. A flurry of conflicting emotions passed through her all at once. Part of her was awash with guilt, knowing that going behind her mothers’ backs, training with weapons… while being grounded. If Glimmer knew, she wouldn’t be this gentle.

The other half wanted to be embarrassed. To push her away, insist that she was too old to be coddled. But an even larger part of her wanted to freeze time and stay locked in this moment where she wasn’t constantly penalized for making stupid mistakes, or struggling with the near constant desire to prove herself, where the nagging ache of bitter sadness gnawed at her heart. In this tiny moment, she could surrender to her mother’s embrace and remember that she was loved.

But Glimmer pulled away and the moment ended, the warmth fading with it as the Queen moved to press her back against the mural before sinking to the floor and patting the spot beside her. Luna joined her, drawing her knees up and leaning slightly into the soft material of her mother’s shoulder covering.

“You know, my first Princess Prom was a disaster too,” Glimmer's voice held a twinge of nostalgia, a fond smile on her lips as she reminisced. 

“It was?” Luna wasn’t sure what disaster could imply that might be worse than destroying a dead family members mural, but she listened.

“Frosta was hosting it in the Kingdom of Snows. And, well--the first half of the night was… Alright _. _ If you don’t count my argument with your Uncle Bow.” She sighed to herself, drawing a confused smile from Luna.

“What did you guys fight about?”

“I was mad he’d brought Perfuma as his plus one, instead of going with me.”

“Uncle Bow went to Princess Prom with Perfuma?” Luna’s jaw practically dropped. 

Glimmer gave her a knowing smirk and Luna shook her head in absolute bewilderment.

“Wow, and I thought Perfuma and Scorpia have  _ always _ been together…,” She briefly wondered if Willow knew, entirely missing the moment that her mother’s brows knit together at her words.

“Anyway,” Glimmer quickly cleared her throat. “The night was going well enough until… It was interrupted by some undercover Horde soldiers.”

“Horde soldiers?” Luna couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. She wasn’t sure how this was considered a disaster when it sounded way more fun than her own Princess Prom. “How many?”

“Only five… But it was enough. Your Uncle Bow and I ended up getting captured.” A strange look crossed Glimmer’s face, darkening her eyes, but Luna decided not to press and wait for more. “We were there for days.. It felt like years. And then--,” a tiny smile lit her face up again, bringing the twinkle back to her eyes, “--your mother brought the so-called cavalry to rescue us. The entire Princess Alliance, all for us. But _ she _ \--she was the one to rescue me…"

Luna sat back against the mural, looking down at her lap. It didn’t surprise her to hear Adora had come bursting in like a knight in shining armor to save the day. She could practically envision it without any further explanation. 

“She saved me and brought me back home, where I had to face my own mother.” Glimmer let her head fall back, resting it against the mural on the wall behind them. “Needless to say she wasn’t happy with me… Or… That’s what I thought, at least.”

Luna looked up from her lap, studying her mother’s face. She looked almost lost, expression tight, as if she was carrying some deeply harbored guilt. “I thought she’d be disappointed in me. I thought she’d see me as a failure. As someone who could never live up to her expectations no matter how hard I tried. I felt like I’d let her down by just being me _ … _ ”

Luna realized she was gaping as the words pierced through every wall she’d ever built. She waited with baited breath… Waited for the solution that might have come for her own mother and grandmother. 

“You wanna know what she told me?” Glimmer asked, glancing over to meet Luna’s mystified gaze. 

The blonde nodded her head..

“She told me how she thought that she’d been the one who failed  _ me _ . She had her own guilt, her own regrets, her own mistakes to carry. But more than anything, she just wanted us to work together. To be there for each other.”

The lesson wasn’t subtle, but Luna had no doubt it was true as she caught the shine of tears in her mother’s eyes. It had been years since she’d allowed herself a moment like this, to be open and vulnerable with either of her parents.

Turning slightly, Luna reached up and placed a hand on the scorched mural. 

“Do you think she’d be mad I messed up her mural?”

Chuckling, Glimmer turned as well, looking up at the deep scar across Angella’s face. “She’d probably laugh and tell you that I would have done the same thing.”

Luna burst into giggles as well, imaging what a chaotic disaster her own mother must have been when she was younger. It seemed so far away from the regal queen sitting beside her. And the regal one above her too--Luna glanced up once more at the face she’d never known. “You don’t think she would have thought I was a disgrace to the Bright Moon throne?”

She felt Glimmer’s hand touch her cheek and when Luna’s eyes flickered to meet her gaze, she saw a deep sadness in those lavender eyes. “She would have been so proud of you.”

Suddenly, she was being pulled forward--a little roughly--her mother squeezing her in a hug so tight that the pressure was excruciating on the cuts that ran up and down her arms. Luna bit back her pained gasp a second too late. Glimmer drew back quickly, eyes scanning her, hands still tightly gripping her injured arms.

“Are you alright?” She squeezed again reassuringly and Luna hissed, tugging her arms away. “Luna?”

There was concern creeping into Glimmer’s voice now as Luna tried to brush her off.

“It’s nothing,” she grimaced, fighting the urge to rub the burn from her arms. “Just a.. .Uh, a tight hug…”

Glimmer’s face was slowly twisting into a frown. “Are you hurt?”

“No! I--,” Luna stared into her mother’s eyes a moment before hanging her head. There was no use lying to Glimmer. And if she ran off, the guilt of hiding a secret from the woman who had just so intently tried to connect with her deepest insecurities, would kill her. 

Slowly, Luna rolled up her sleeves, revealing the many (some deep) and fresh cuts that lined her arms. Glimmer’s eyes widened, a choked breath her only response as she reached out to tenderly grasp Luna’s forearms.

“Luna,” she looked up pleadingly. “Did you…?”

“No!” Luna assured her quickly. “I didn’t--No. I’ve been… Training, with--Catra. In secret. She--We’re using real swords and I wasn’t fast enough--But it’s fine! Mom, it doesn’t even hurt that bad. I promise. And I’m sorry--I know I’m not supposed to but--,”

Luna continued to babble although she could tell Glimmer was no longer listening. She looked up, cutting Luna off with one word, “Catra?”

_ Crap. _

Luna gave a single nod and then in a burst of light and sparkles, her mother was gone. Clenching her fists, Luna let her forehead fall against the cold stone of the mural.

She was beyond busted. 

And so was Catra.

* * *

Despite the minor disaster at Princess Prom--and the sneaking around behind Adora and Glimmer’s backs to teach Luna how to fight--Catra was enjoying a rather relaxing break in Bright Moon. She currently lay curled up on the window seat inside her permanent assigned guest room. Melog was at her side, purring quietly. Ash had scampered off somewhere hours ago. What sort of trouble he was getting into, Catra wasn’t sure, but she knew he could take care of himself.

The sun was warm and the room peaceful and quiet. Catra had just settled deeper into her nest of pillows when a familiar chime filled the air. Ears quirking, Catra looked up to see Glimmer had appeared in the center of her room. Surprised, but not at all  _ disappointed _ that the Queen was here in her private quarters, Catra sat up with a sleepy grin.

“Hey, Sparkles. To what do I owe the surprise vis--,” Catra trailed off as she saw the telltale sign of magic gathering around Glimmer’s clenched fists. And then she noticed the practical snarl twisting the Queen’s face and she managed to duck just as a blast of luminescent magic exploded over her head.

“What the hell, Glimmer?!” She spat, scrambling away from the window seat and ducking behind an armchair as another ball of magic burst above her. Melog yowled and scrambled beneath the bed, unwilling to face the furious Queen.  _ Coward _ .

“What were you  _ thinking _ , Catra?!” Glimmer shouted, and the hair on Catra’s spine rose just in time to alert her to scurry to a new cover. 

“What do you mean what was I thinking? What are  _ you _ thinking?! What are you talking about? I--” Another blast scorched the far wall. “Can you stop trying to kill me for two seconds and use your words?!”

“I’m not trying to kill you,” Glimmer shot back, the magic dimming as she stormed up to Catra, stopping only inches from her face. “I just want to know why  _ you _ thought it was a good idea to cut and scar my daughter and call it training!”

Catra blinked, paralyzed by the lavender fire burning in Glimmer’s eyes as she realized what was going on. She’d found out about the secret training. Somehow… Likely Luna had been caught. Not that it was the kids fault.

“Alright, okay… Relax,” Catra lifted her hands in a sign of defeat. “Let’s just put the magic away...Calm down and talk about it, okay?”

“Don't tell me to calm down!” Glimmer shourted, her wings flaring out so quickly that Catra flinched back even though the magic around her fists had dissipated. “What do you think this is Catra? Some kind of twisted game? Is it funny to you to cut up anyone who looks like Adora--?”

“That’s not fair!” Catra snarled in retaliation, although Glimmer didn’t back down. “You  _ know  _ that’s not true. You know how I feel about  _ that _ … as a whole ..thing! It--,” Catra threw her hands up in frustration. “I was trying to help her!”

“Help her?” Glimmer’s eyes narrowed, but she’d taken a step out of Catra’s personal bubble. “By ‘training’ her with real swords?”

“Okay! The real swords thing was a dumb idea. I will--I’ll admit that,” Catra heaved a sigh, the flicking of her tail betraying her frustration. “But I wanted to help her feel like she was  _ doing _ something. She wants to learn to fight so badly--,”

“She doesn’t need to!” Glimmer quickly interrupted. “Etheria has been at peace for almost twenty years now, Catra.”

“I know that! But she feels useless, Glimmer. Can’t you see that? You two are smothering her and you don’t even realize it.”

“We’re not…,” Glimmer’s voice broke at the last moment. “We’re  _ not _ . She can’t fight. She’s too weak. You’ve seen her when she used to play with Ash. Her breathing gets all--,”

“Glimmer,” Catra softened her tone and took a step forward, frowning as Glimmer’s wings drooped and her eyes darted to the floor. “You’re scared. I know you are. You have been since the day she was born. I was there watching you two suffer through it all, remember?”

Glimmer didn’t look up, but she nodded, so Catra chanced placing a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

“You know though… You  _ remember _ what it was like to have no one believe in you. Or trust you. Or  _ listen _ to you. You remember what it felt like to be under Adora’s shadow. I know you do… It’s how you were able to help  _ me _ … She’s no different than we were. You have to see that,” Catra paused, wary of her next words, “Or you’re going to lose her.”

Finally, lavender eyes flickered up to meet hers and Catra felt her heart twist at the pain there. She seemed to be pondering all of Catra’s words. Absorbing the implications, and remembering her own struggles back when they were young.

“No more real swords,” she said, her bottom lips pushing out in a slight pout. “At all.”

“Done,” Catra agreed, giving her a toothy smile. “Only the foam ones.”

“And--,” Glimmer trailed off again, guilt twisting her face. “Adora can’t know.”

Catra wasn’t planning on telling her, but the thought of helping Glimmer  _ lie _ to her was a little concerning, she had to admit.

“Or at least…You should let me tell her. Eventually. I need to figure out what to say to her first,” Glimmer resolved, although she still looked guilt ridden. “She won’t be as easy to convince. She doesn’t listen to anyone anymore--,”

“Adora’s always been stubborn,” Catra assured her, gently and briefly squeezing Glimmer’s hand. “Especially when she feels like you’re someone she needs to protect.”

A tired smile quirked Glimmer’s lips as she squeezed Catra’s hand in return. 

“You’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I promise to keep her safe while we train. No more dangerous weapons. I’m sorry.”

Glimmer’s smile turned mischievous. “Since when do you apologize?”

“Since you convinced me it was a really effective way to get what I want,” Catra teased back. Glimmer chuckled, although they both knew that it had been a very long journey for Catra to reach the emotional and mental stability she had now. Much of it had been thanks to Glimmer’s friendship during the war, the rest, Catra attributed to Ash and how much caring for him had brought a sense of personal responsibility to her life.

Even still, after all these years, it wasn’t out of character for Glimmer to tease her for her shortcomings. Not that Catra really minded--it was what she loved about Glimmer, after all.

* * *

Luna waited for the inevitable punishment that--never came. The day after her secret training had been discovered by the Queen, Glimmer was called away on yet another mission--leaving Luna to resume her secret training sessions with Catra.  When she prompted, the magicat told her they’d simply reached an ‘agreement’. Or at least… She and Glimmer had. Catra didn’t mention Adora and Luna decided not to push it. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin the slim opportunity she had to finally learn how to fight.  So they continued for a few more days, switching to foam batons at the apparent request of Glimmer (which was way less cool in Luna’s opinion). After a while it began to occur to Luna to test her newly acquired skills with someone other than Catra.

She hadn’t spoken to Adora one-on-one since the morning after Princess Prom and part of her wondered if a brief training session with her own mother might… impress her? Enough that maybe Adora might consider training her too? If Glimmer had ultimately been okay with it… Maybe a change was coming over her protective parents?  Being taught to fight by the mighty She-Ra was no small brag. And Luna wanted it more than anything. She had since she was just a small child, watching Adora with stars in her eyes.  And so, finally, Luna risked asking her mother for a brief sparring session, phrasing it as more of a game than anything, figuring Adora might give her a chance if she didn’t think Luna was taking it seriously.

In the end, although Adora seemed prepared to brush her off at first, Luna’s casual approach won her over. The two made for the gardens together--Luna determined to finally prove her worth to her own mother.

* * *

Adora took up her sparring stance, the foam sword gripped loosely in her non-dominate sword hand. Luna stood a few yards away, expression fierce, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. Adora bit back a smile she knew her daughter wouldn’t appreciate—she looked so much like a younger Glimmer in these moments.

Suddenly the young girl was rushing forward, drawing back her arm in a wide swing before she was close enough for the move not to be completely telegraphed. Adora raised her own sword in a block, tapping Luna’s foam baton away and prodding her backwards with a gentle jab to the stomach.

The girl grunted, tripping slightly on her own feet. She managed to catch herself just before Adora reached out to do so, readjusting her grip on her baton before squaring herself and lunging again. She went for Adora’s middle this time; but not quickly enough for her not to be able to once more tap the baton aside and push her away with her own.

A tiny frustrated growl came from the girl and she leapt forward again, this time in a messy overhead swing. Adora sidestepped and the baton came smashing down on the ground. She placed her own against the small of Luna’s back and pushed, sending her stumbling forward a few paces.

Part of Adora was itching to offer true battle advice out of habit. The rest of her knew Luna would never need it. Etheria existed in an era of total peace, only a few stray bandits and gangs roamed the wilderness—to which Luna would never stray. And beyond that, Adora knew how much it worried Glimmer to let her train to her full extent. She was quick to tire, sometimes struggling to catch her breath if training grew too intense. So Adora held her tongue, figuring they would go for a few more easy rounds before calling it a day.

It was just a bit of exercise after all. Just a quick game, a way for them to reconnect after the disastrous Princess Prom.

A few yards away, Luna didn't immediately turn to face Adora. Instead, she stood with her back turned, slowly breathing in and out, her shoulders squaring…

Adora was about to ask if anything was wrong when suddenly, Luna turned on her heel and sped towards the blonde. She was faster than before, and Adora couldn’t detect where she might be planning to strike, so she raised a middle guard and lowered her stance to center her weight. And then Luna was gone…

In the blink of an eye, Luna had grabbed both ends of her foam sword between her hands and slid, full tilt, between her mother’s squared legs. The ends of her foam baton caught Adora’s ankles and with the momentum of the slide, the blonde found herself falling forward. She caught herself, landing gracefully before her face met the ground. But then she felt Luna’s foot against the square of her back, baton pressed to the base of her skull.

“Yield.” Her voice held a hint of smug mirth, but Adora’s mind was racing with too many memories to be anything other than furious. The move was familiar. It was quite literally a low blow, a cheat, one that had been used on her multiple times in her youth. One she always fell for. And one only a single person she knew used consistently. Which mean that Catra—

Adora shoved herself to her feet, knocking Luna off balance in the process; the princess yelped and stumbled back, her eyes wide as her mother whirled on her.

“Where did you learn that?”

“Learn what?” she tried with an innocent grin that was too wide.

Adora’s eyes narrowed.

“That move. Who taught it to you?” Adora pressed, taking a step closer. To her surprise, her daughter did not back down. In fact, her soft face hardened, lips pursing and tiny shoulders squaring.

“No one. I came up with it myself.”

So now she was lying too. Covering up for Catra on top of being… Secretly trained by her? For how long? When did they start?

“Luna.”

“I  _ did! _ ” she insisted, although Adora noticed her shrink slightly, blue eyes darting away for the briefest of moments.

Adora reached for her training baton. “Inside. Now. We’re done, no more games.”

“What?” Luna’s eyes flew wide and she backed away, clutching the sword to her chest like a precious doll. “No, that’s not fair! We’re just getting started. _ Please… _ ”

“Luna, don’t argue with me,” Adora reached again, jaw clenching in frustration as Luna scrambled a few feet away.

“Mom, please!  _ Please! _ It’s been weeks since I’ve even been allowed to leave the stupid castle.”

Adora leaned back, planting one hand on her hip, eyes narrowing challengingly. “You want to keep training?”

“Yes!”

“Tell me who taught you how to do that.”

Luna’s eyes burned, her mouth quivering with barely contained anger. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I came up with it myself? Huh? Maybe I’m just way better than you think I am!”

Biting back a scathing response regarding the sparring session moments before she’d used Catra’s move, that Adora knew would only hurt her daughter, she held out a hand and remained stoic and solemn as a statue. “Training is over.”

Luna’s face contorted and then she was dashing past Adora toward the castle, the baton abandoned at her feet. A faint tug at her heart told Adora she should go after her clearly frustrated daughter, but her fury with Catra demanded her attention first.

Unfortunately, it often proved difficult to track the magicat down whenever she stayed in the giant castle, and today was no exception. Adora was mostly aware of her favorite spots: the gardens, the roof of the North tower, the window seat of her guest room. But today, as Adora stormed to each place--growing angrier and angrier with each passing moment--the magicat was nowhere to be found.

It wasn’t until Adora had circled back around to check the gardens once again that she ran straight into her wife. Knowing she’d be stopped if she tried to explain the fury wafting off her in waves, Adora made an attempt to scoot past her without confrontation. 

She did not succeed.

“Adora,” Glimmer touched her arm as she passed. It wasn’t a grab, or anything that might demand her to stop, but Adora did anyway. “What’s wrong? Where are you going?”

The concern in her wife’s voice--whom she hadn’t even seen for a few days thanks to all of Glimmer’s recent diplomatic endeavors--tempered Adora’s frustration enough for her to turn and face her.

“I’m looking for Catra.”

Glimmer’s eyes widened slightly, in a way that made Adora’s stomach drop--although she wasn’t sure why. “Catra?”

“She and I need to talk.” Adora wasn’t going to elaborate, until the concern twisting Glimmer’s face made her heart twinge. “She’s been training Luna to fight. In secret! She knows how dangerous that is in the first place. And the fact that she  _ kept _ it from us? It’s inexcusable and completely irresponsible and Catra knows better now. If Luna had gotten hurt--,”

Adora trailed off as she noticed Glimmer seeming to shrink before her. She closed her eyes, dropping her chin to her chest as her wings drooped.

Adora’s skin began to crawl with dread. The warrior often found herself at the butt end of jokes about her occasional obliviousness. But Adora was not stupid. It didn’t take more than the look of guilt etched across Glimmer’s face to know that she’d been lied to.

For how long?

“Glim…?”

“She didn’t keep it from… us,” Glimmer explained, finally looking back up to meet Adora’s disbelieving gaze. “Well...she  _ did _ . But I found out. I already discussed it with her.” 

Adora gaped, her mouth opening although no words came out. The sense of betrayal that flooded through her, stealing her words How long had Glimmer known? How long had Luna been training? How long were they planning on keeping it from her? Why had her feelings on the matter not even been considered? This wasn’t fair--

“I’m sorry, Adora,” Glimmer reached out and before Adora could pull away, there was a flash and they’d reappeared in their bedroom. A safer space to talk, Adora knew. Or rather, argue… Because try as she might to never truly fight with Glimmer, she felt incredibly wounded as her wife continued to try to explain her decision. “I was  _ going _ to tell you. I just wanted it to be the right time. But I kept getting pulled away on missions and you were busy with diplomats and when we  _ were _ together… I wasn’t sure how best to tell you. It’s not an excuse, I know. But I feel like we don’t really  _ hear _ each other anymore.”

Adora took a step back, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to regulate her emotions before speaking. She felt Glimmer’s fingers on her cheek and turned her head away, jaw tense as she murmured, “Please don’t.”

Glimmer pulled back immediately, her own eyes wounded when Adora dared to meet them again. 

“You lied to me,” Adora concluded finally, unable to keep the tearful waver out of her voice. “You had the chance to tell me, to include me in this… decision. And you didn’t.:”

“Adora, I’m sorry,” Glimmer tried again. “You don’t understand how she feels though. And Catra and I--,”

Adora’s tenuous control snapped. “I don’t  _ understand _ ? You’re blaming the fact that you both  _ lied _ to me, because you thought I wouldn’t understand? Understand what? That she could get hurt? That she doesn’t need to learn how to fight in the first place? Because I’m not like you and Catra...T--that I don’t deserve to be a part of a decision that affects  _ my _ daughter’s wellbeing?”

“That’s now what I meant,” Glimmer shot back, her own voice trembling, although Adora could see her wings fluffing out in anger. “Adora listen to yourself right now! You’re so angry nowadays. All the time! What was I supposed to tell you?”

“I don’t think assuming my reaction is a fair reason to lie to me!” 

“What would you call this reaction then?”

“I don’t know--,” Adora threw her arms out in frustration. “Hurt? … Since when has Catra’s opinion on our daughter been more important to you than mine?”

“It’s not like that!” Glimmer was quivering, fists clenched at her sides. “Catra just understands how much Luna needs more freedom than we give her.”

“Even if that was true, why didn’t she include us in this decision in the first place?”

“Maybe because she knew what we’d say!”

“What? That she’s being irresponsible? I think we have a right to say that!”

“Adora, please,” Glimmer closed her eyes, attempting to center herself. “For once, just  _ listen _ to the people that love you when we tell you you’re holding on too tight.”

Adora couldn’t fight the tears anymore, they spilled down her cheeks in anger and pain. “ _ I’m _ the bad guy now? Glimmer,  _ you _ wanted to protect her just as much as I do. Why do I have to feel I’ve committed some crime… doing what I always swore I would do?”

“I thought--Adora I thought we were doing the right thing too. I think we  _ are _ in some ways. We have the best intentions. We love her. But we’re shutting her out and we have to stop or we’ll lose her.”

“‘I’m protecting her!”

“You’re hurting her!”

A silence fell over the room, a gaping chasm opening at their feet.

Adora stood back at a loss for words. She was the villain. She was hurting the family she’d worked so tirelessly to love and protect for sixteen years. Her own daughter avoided her. Her best friend lied to her. And her wife didn’t trust her.

“I will never forget what it was like to hold her for the first time…and feel  _ nothing _ ,” Adora explained, stubbornly through a shaky voice. “I will protect her--from herself if I have to… I can’t lose her again.”

“Adora…,” Glimmer’s reply was weak. “You already are.”

“I--I don’t know what you want from me,” was all Adora could say, her voice breaking. 

In the past, it might have affected Glimmer to hear the pain so visceral in her voice. Now, lavender eyes flickered up and away, before Glimmer’s wings folded in, cocooning slightly around herself. She did nothing to close the distance between them, instead shielding herself and refusing to meet Adora’s gaze.

“I want to recognize the woman I married again,” she murmured shakily. “Before our family falls apart.”

* * *

**5 Years Ago…**

Luna had never really spent time in Dryll before.

The city was a bustling mechanical metropolis surrounding an almost ominous, pointed castle that she knew to be Princess Entrapta’s. The only other thing she knew about the purple haired princess was that she too had no powers, no Runestone at all in fact, so Luna wasn’t entirely sure that counted. She and Uncle Bow and often Catra went on trips into the cosmos quite often. Exploring their surrounding planetary neighbors and bringing back new and fascinating tech to Etheria. Luna found herself wondering what it might be like to explore the stars on the massive spaceship they journeyed on.

Said ship was resting on a cliffside high above the castle, although Luna and the other kids could see its surface gleaming in the afternoon sunlight from where they stood gathered at the castle doors. They’d been sent here together by transport: she, Ash, Willow and the Salineas twins. Aster, Bow’s daughter, was present as well. Luna didn’t see her very often, as she spent most of her time with her mother, Lonnie, here in Dryll. When Luna did see her, the girl was perfectly pleasant, but Luna couldn’t help but feel a particularly bitter sense of rivalry. Whether or not anyone ever made the comparison directly, Luna felt more inferior than normal around the other powerless girl. Lonnie trained her daily, making Aster a fearsome hand-to-hand combatant. And Bow often imparted much of his tech knowledge on his daughter, as such, she was also skilled with gadgets.

Luna couldn’t win. Everywhere she turned, she was surrounded by peers who were superior to her in skill, with or without powers.

Aster caught her staring and offered a grin and tiny wave. Luna flushed, her ears turning red as she snapped back to look at the double doors of the castle. She did not return the smile, nor did she see Aster's face fall. 

Every kid here had a parent(s) that had gone to deal with a sudden (apparently very serious) threat in the Crimson Waste. Why a bunch of bandits required the attention of the Queen and about five more of Etheria’s strongest fighters, Luna didn’t know. But she hadn’t really cared to ask either. She was more than willing to escape Bright Moon for the day. And Dryll was a fascinating place.  Suddenly the large castle doors swung open, too quickly for their size, startling Willow so badly the princesses tail whipped out in a panic. Luckily, Ash, who had been standing behind her, was quick enough to duck and avoid the blow with a hiss.

“Sorry, Ash,” Willow murmured, eyes wide and round as she clutched her dangerous tail close to her chest.

Ash scoffed, his ears flattening again when Princess Entrapta appeared in the doorway and exclaimed exuberantly, “PRINCESSES!”

She paused, one of her gray streaked ponytails coming to tap at her chin as she examined the group. “Princesses? And… Aster? And… Cat? And… Prince! Yes?”

The kids looked at each other in confusion. They had been warned of Entrapta’s ‘unusual enthusiasm’, but none of them quite knew how to respond. All except Aster, who dealt with the Princess on a regular basis Luckily, she didn’t seem to need an answer.

“Come in! Come in!” Entrapta backed inside the castle, her pigtails waving them in after her. “We have so much to do!”

The group of eleven to thirteen-year-olds followed the purple haired scientist inside the doors that lead into a rather enormous and open courtyard. Luna hadn’t been here before, or at least not when she was old enough to remember details, but the layout of the courtyard immediately struck her as strange. There were bits of machinery and tech scattered strategically around the yard, a few bushes and trees and even small pools of water also dotted the area. At either end of the enormous courtyard were two vibrantly colored flags, one red, one blue.

Luna glanced back at her friends, who were too busy taking in the area around them to notice Entrapta had paused in the middle, perching herself on a low metal wall, arms spread out and a wide open mouthed smile on her face.

“I would like to welcome you all to Entrapta’s Princess Arena!”

A loud silence fell over the group as they processed their environment and then Entrapta’s words.

“The what?” Nerida asked finally, crossing her arms over her chest and quirking one thick brow.

“Princess Arena!” Entrapta crowed again, leaping down from her box and beginning to circle around the children, examining each one with a careful eye before moving onto the next. “As soon as your parents asked me to keep an eye on you all for a few days I came up with a brilliant plan to test the power levels of second generational runestone users! All of you--,” she poked Percy’s nose with one of her purple pigtails,”—share the power of your runestones with your, currently alive, parents! Some of you even share it between one another too.”

Once again, she poked, but this time at Nerida, who swatted the pigtail away with expert reflexes.

“And! Some of you have  _ two _ runestones, but to what extent? Is it a fifty-fifty split in power distribution? Or, less?” Entrapta stood in front of Willow, a wild grin on her face as the small half scorpioni girl trembled with anxiety.

“One of you is a cat,” Entrapta brushed past Ash who flattened his ears in response.

“And the rest of you,” the scientist turned to Luna, a curious gleam in her eye. “Have no powers. Whether through circumstance or birth. And I’d like to know how you compare _ —, _ ”

Luna frowned, puffing herself up as tall as she could even as Entrapta seemed to loom over her large. Aster stood nearby, appearing far less impressed by the eccentric display than any of the other kids.

“So!” Entrapta shot back and clapped her hands as she rose back to hobble away on her pigtails. “I have set up a game! A test of skill and strength! I will be taking notes and figures of each of your specific power levels and capabilities while you play a game of capture the flag!”

The kids glanced at each other again and then around the arena and then back at Entrapta.

“Are there… Rules?” Willow managed to squeak.

Entrapta was already settling on top of a large bit of debris, pulling out a tech pad and a strange looking antennae like device. “No!—Wait, yes. Uh… Don’t kill each other. No intentional maiming either. Oh!”

She quickly hopped back down from her perch. “Teams. Of course, in order to properly study this, we’ll need to make it a fair fight. So… One water sibling here and the other one here.”

Nerida and Percy exchanged competitive glances before moving to the opposite spots Entrapta pointed to.

“Little Scorpia, you will be on little Seahawk’s team.”

Willow trudged to stand beside Percy, ignoring the misusage of her name.

“Small Catra, with small Mermista!”

Ash glanced at Luna, a strange blush coloring his cheeks before he darted to stand close—but not too close—to the Salineas Princess.

“And you two,” Entrapta turned to Aster and Luna, the tip of her pigtail tapping her chin in thought. “Hmm…” she began mumbling under her breath, “Both powerless… But considering I have seen Lonnie train this one consistently—I don’t know the small blonde one’s fighting capabilities at all, only that she does not share a connection with the Runestone, or She-Ra…But the best way to gather data on her general capabilities would be to—Alright. Aster, over here.”

Aster moved to stand beside Ash and Nerida, who gave her a high five as she approached the team. Luna looked over at her own assumed team; Percy was busy glaring at his sister, but Willow was waving her down frantically, beaming.  Shooting one last grumpy glare at Entrapta, Luna scurried over to them, immediately tugged into a crushing hug.

“We’re on the same team,” Willow squeaked, cutting off her airflow entirely before releasing her. “I mean… We don’t have Ash, but it’ll be fine—,”

“Alright, circle up,” Percy interrupted, pulling them both into a huddle. “If we’re going to beat them, we need a plan of attack. My sister is strong… Not as strong as me, of course, but she will pose a challenge. So,obviously, I’ll be the one to deal with her. The other two—,”

“What kind of a position do you think she’ll take though?” Luna interrupted. “If she stays back to guard the flag, then we should send you in as offense, but if she’s coming for  _ our _ flag then—,”

“I  _ know _ my sister,” Percy cut her off with a snide tone. “She’ll hang back and let the others do the dirty work for her. Which means,  _ I’ll _ confront her at their base and snatch the flag right out from under her stupid nose.”

Luna opened her mouth to offer a strategy, but Percy plowed ahead without her input. “Willow, you have the power of two runestones and Entrapta gave my sister two teammates without powers to match yours. So, you can easily handle both, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” Willow laughed nervously. “Yeah, easy. Two against one. Yes. I—Can absolutely handle that.”

Luna glanced back at their competition. The other three were just breaking out of their huddle, and Nerida sent an obscene gesture Percy’s way, Ash snickering beside her. 

Filled with a fierce determination to defeat the other team, Luna turned to Percy practically bouncing on her toes as she asked, “Okay, what about me? What do I do?”

“We’ll need someone to guard the base,” Percy offered a smile that Luna only found patronizing.

Luna froze, blinking. Waiting for him to say he was joking. When he didn’t, she looked at Willow, who quickly directed her own gaze to the dirt at their feet, her shoulders hunching.

Utterly betrayed, Luna tried to defend herself, insisting, “Wait, wouldn’t Willow be a better—?”

“You’ll be an excellent guard, I know it,” Percy cut her off, patting her shoulder just a little too firmly--a silent order to shut up and do as she was told.

Luna stared at him as he turned to signal to Entrapta that they were ready, trying to fathom how quickly she was being sidelined. She wasn’t the  _ best _ fighter here… Sure. But ideally, with Willow’s combined powerset, she had more of a chance of defending their flag and base with some well-placed plant life. And maybe if Percy could distract Nerida and whoever else might tag team, Luna could make a dash for the base. She was small enough to sneak through chaos relatively unnoticed. No one ever noticed her even without the cover of chaos anyway…

But before she could argue her stance, Entrapta had leapt back up onto her wall and ordered the teams to retreat to their flags at opposite ends of the courtyard.

“Get ready Princesses! Prince! And small cat! The game begins in thirty seconds!” Entrapta snapped her pigtails and seemingly from nowhere, a large numbered display appeared on one of the courtyard walls, showing the countdown.

Luna didn’t have time to wonder how the scientist had prepared all of this on such short notice before Percy was babbling rapidly once more about the details of their plan. Luna ignored him this time. His plan didn’t even make sense and if she followed it without question, it was likely they’d lose the game… And quickly. Still, she nodded along in silence, knowing that arguing with him would do no good.

As the timer reached the five second countdown, their team prepped to dash into the fray. Luna stood back by the blue flag but gave Willow a thumbs up when the girl turned to check on her. The princess beamed back, her tail waving, and then the timer buzzed loudly and the game began. 

Percy made a dash for the middle of the battlefield immediately, where his twin sister was already subverting his expectations, having rushed into the offensive. His prediction that she would stay behind to guard the red flag appeared to have been misguided, and that changed their plan entirely.

Unfortunately, with Percy now locked in a battle of water manipulation with his sister and Willow entering the fray much more cautiously, it left Luna’s team no time to re-strategize. Worst, of all, Nerida was strong… Very strong. Luna had often heard the adults throw around the term ‘prodigy’. While it made her unduly jealous, Luna couldn’t deny it was true. She lifted waves and jets of water out of the small pools Entrapta had provided, and bombarded her brother with them. Percy was able to manipulate some back in her direction, other attacks he dodged. Either way, he was pinned.

Willow, realizing that Percy was about to be overwhelmed, made a dash to help him, sending a looping vine from one of the nearby bushes to wrap around Nerida’s ankle. The Salineas princess noticed immediately, and with expert precision, used one hand to cut through it with a razor sharp wave of water. She returned her attention to her brother with a smirk.

Luna knew that Willow wouldn’t use her Black Garnet abilities in a fake fight, no matter how useful they would be against their opponent whose element was water. Which meant she needed to think of some way to subdue Nerida otherwise. 

Luna shuffled from foot-to-foot, following the action as it raged a few yards ahead of her. A sudden scuffle in the gravel behind her drew her attention and she snapped around to see Ash scurrying for their flag.

“Hey!” She shouted before diving for her friend, tackling him around his middle and taking them both to the ground. Ash yowled and kicked until he got his feet beneath Luna’s stomach and shoved her off. They fell apart, sprawled in the dirt, panting and glaring at one another.

“Lemme get this one,” Ash insisted. “First round. Please?” 

Luna was about to ask why on Etheria he thought she would even consider that when she caught his yellow eyes flickering to Nerida. Whom he obviously wanted to impress. 

“No!” Luna’s nose wrinkled. “If you wanna win, you’ll actually fight me for it!”

“If I fight you, I  _ will _ win,” Ash insisted, rolling his eyes.

Now offended and enraged, Luna made to tackle Ash again but he scrambled away and she crashed into the dirt, scraping her knees on the rubble beneath. Whirling, she lunged again, catching the magicat around the middle as he grasped for the flag.

“Get off!” he hissed, twisting and grasping at her arms. Luna noticed that despite the heat of the moment, the magicat’s claws remained sheathed, his otherwise soft hands twisting at her grip. “Luna, come on! It’s a game!”

“It’s not!” Luna argued, gasping as Ash elbowed her in the chest and then shoved her back. She hit the ground hard, tailbone aching. 

The magicat turned to face her, reaching slightly--his eyes wide as if he’d realized he’d hit her with more force than intended, but suddenly another vine crawled from the ground, yanking the boy into the air and dangling him from a tree.

“Willow!” He shouted, hissing and wiggling in an attempt to escape as more vines bound him in a neat bundle.

“Sorry!” Willow called back from a distance as Luna stood up to see her friend waving. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Luna shot her a grateful thumbs up and then stuck her tongue out at Ash, who growled in return from his upside down perch. 

Looking around the battlefield, Luna realized she still hadn’t seen Aster. Which meant the other girl must have been stationed to defend the flag. Although from behind the chaos of water and flying debris and plants, Luna couldn’t get a good sight of the opposite flag. It was then she realized that she could use the chaos to her advantage. Percy and Willow were distracting Nerida, Ash was subdued, which meant Luna only feasibly had to get through Asteer to win the game. And if she could make a sneak attack--she wouldn’t even technically have to fight to impress everyone.

She was doing it.

Taking off, ignoring the screech from Ash, Luna booked it across the field as fast as her scrawny legs could carry her. She dodged blasts of water and slipped on rubble, but picked herself up and kept charging. The red flag appeared in her vision, waving temptingly in the wind. 

Picking up speed, Luna ran harder, reaching out--when a sudden force on the back of her shirt yanked her to the ground. She collapsed with a thud, the air driven from her lungs, and Aster’s face appeared above her, a determined grin spreading her freckled cheeks.

“Going somewhere, Princess?” she teased.

Frustration bloomed inside of her like a tiny fire as Luna scrambled to her feet, squaring off across the girl whom she’d already deemed her personal rival. Aster wasn’t carrying any weapons, but Luna knew she was infinitely skilled in hand-to-hand combat anyway. It didn’t matter much what she had--if Luna got too close, she was doomed.

Still, she had to try.

Luna lunged with a sloppy punch, a wild swing that Aster ducked away from, easily popping back up but not retaliating. The concentrated, but slightly amused smile on her face, was sincerely pissing Luna off. She tried for a hook, missing when Aster dodged and then moved in closer, placing two strong hands on her chest and shoving. 

Luna stumbled back--Aster’s move redirecting her father away from the red flag. 

“You’re not gonna make it past me,” she insisted coolly. “So just turn back now.”

“Make me,” Luna spat back, squaring off again and only realizing those were the wrong words to say as Aster shrugged and dove in. She captured Luna in a headlock easily. It wasn’t forceful enough to hurt, but it did keep her immobilized.

“Give up?” 

“Never!” Luna shot back, scrabbling and kicking her feet until one heel landed on Aster’s shin and the girl loosened her grip enough to Luna to wiggle free.

_ ‘Get the flag. Get the flag. Get the flag.’ _

Luna turned as Aster stumbled, wishing for all the world she could teleport the final few feet as she ran, reaching--

The flag fluttered against her fingertips.

She heard Aster shout Nerida’s name.

And then--

The blast of water that came, knocked Luna straight into one of the concrete walls surrounding them. She hit it with such force that her vision went momentarily black. When she was able to blink the dark spots away she found it was nearly impossible to draw a full breath, a stabbing pain rocketing through her chest. She choked on air, drenched and shiver, struggling to gain her bearings. Suddenly, the cheers from the opposing team turned into worried shouts and Luna opened her eyes through the pain to see Aster kneeling in front of her.

“Luna, are you okay?” The girl’s hazel eyes were wide and worried, all pretense of competition lost as she reached out to touch Luna’s shoulder.

She almost screamed in pain when Aster’s fingers hit her collar bone. The other girl jerked back, leaping to her feet and waving her arms for Entrapta. Her words were distant and blurry through the ringing in Luna’s ears, but she swore she could make out “help” “she’s hurt” and that seemed to be an excellent summary all things considered.

Her peers surrounded her now, looking down with concern--and guilt in Nerida’s case--but all Luna felt was pity. Her cheeks burned with shame, body aching as the adrenaline wore off and the  _ definitely _ broken bones she’d suffered began to scream. The worst part, she decided as Entrapta carefully lifted her and began carting her into the castle, was that everyone had been right.

She  _ was _ too weak to compete. She was fragile. Easily broken. Powerless and unhealthy. The struggle for air became too much, as did the screaming pain, and before Luna could even cry the world went black.

* * *

Entrapta managed to patch up her injuries quite effectively, despite seeming to have no real knowledge of first aid. Nerida’s water blast had knocked Luna into the wall with such force that she’d fractured both her collar bone and a single rib. Entrapta had insisted she would heal quickly with the casts and the undefined green liquid Entrapta had injected her with. The injection site was so sore afterwards, Luna couldn’t lift her arm more than a few inches. She sincerely hoped she hadn’t just been poisoned.

The worst part of it all was that her parents still wouldn’t return for a few days. She was forced to ‘rest’ in one of the rooms of the maze like castle as the other kids explored Dryll together, or even competed in more games of capture the flag. Nerida had apologized, looking truly contrite before disappearing entirely. She didn’t seem to want to deal with looking at the damage she’d done, and Luna couldn’t blame her, she looked like a mess. 

Her moms were going to be so mad.

Willow and Ash stayed with her as often as they could. Willow even slept nearby sometimes, although eventually Luna insisted she use the room she’d been given if she was tired. Watching her friend sleep on the floor to comfort her broken self was not only saddening, but it embarrassed Luna further. The other kids she didn’t see much of. Aster stopped to check in once or twice, until she seemed to realize her presence was making Luna uncomfortable. At the end of the day, Luna was ashamed of herself. Nerida hadn’t even hit her that hard… Any of the other kids could have taken the blow. Even Ash or Aster. They were stronger than her, more fit. Their bones weren’t weak, they didn’t have to stop to gasp for breath after short spurts of running because their lungs didn’t work right. They had muscle and not tiny stick like arms because gaining actual weight wasn’t an issue for them. 

Luna sulked in silence for a few days. Ignoring the pain because she didn’t want to risk more of Entrapta’s weird colored ‘medicines’, and wishing she was back home in her own room. 

That wish turned out to be a double edged sword when after three days of this, their parents returned. Luna could hear a cacophony of voices in the courtyard through the room's window. She heard Nerida and Percy greeted by the monotone of their mother, Mermista. She heard the boisterous voice of Scorpia and could entirely imagine her scooping up her daughter into a giant hug, despite how tall Willow was getting nowadays. She heard Uncle Bow asking Aster if Entrapta had shown her any of her new tech and then Luna heard Adora’s voice and her heart sank in her aching chest.

“Where’s Luna?”

“She’s recuperating,” Entrapta stated rather matter-of-factly. “She was injured during my study of the Princesses power levels.”

“She was what?” Adora’s shout silenced the rest of the noise in the courtyard.

“Not to worry, Adora,” Entrapta insisted. “I’ve taken care of the injuries and given her a restorative serum! She will be completely healed in no longer than two weeks--,”

“You--Princess--power--Wha--,” Her mother couldn’t seem to focus on what to be angry about and then Luna heard Glimmer interject.

“Where is she, Entrapta?”

“She’s in the healing ward! Third room down the left hallway of the East wing.”

Luna heard the familiar chime of her mother’s teleport and squeezed her eyes shut… Waiting…

And waiting…

Opening her eyes, she looked around expecting her mother, but then she heard the chime again from much farther away. And then again, slightly closer. And then again, father once more.

“I HATE this castle!”

A final chime and suddenly both her parents stood in front of her in a flash of sparkles. Luna just stared at them, watching their faces change as they took in the sight of her injuries.

“Hi,” she squeaked, trying to lift the arm that Entrapta had injected and then realizing she still couldn’t, so just wiggling her fingers in an awkward wave.

In the next instant they were both surrounding her, smothering her as they checked her casts, bombarding her with questions all at once “What happened?”, “Who did this?”, “Are you in pain?”, “What did Entrapta give you?”, “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Luna answered each question more robotically than the next, shutting down under her parents' concern. Part of her had maybe hoped they’d be proud, or at least compliment her for being brave or strong? Instead, they handled her like a broken doll. She was too tall now, and her legs weren’t broken, but Adora insisted on carrying her out of Entrapta’s castle. Instead of feeling protected, Luna was just reminded of her mother's strength. Of how very 'She-Ra' she was, even when not transformed.

And how very 'She-Ra' Luna  _ wasn't _ . 

They said their brief, and terse goodbyes, to the rest of the gathered group and then Glimmer teleported them and they were back in Bright Moon.

Luna hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye to her friends. Not that she really would have, she supposed. Her cheeks were still burning from all the pitying gazes of the adults. Even Catra had looked at her with some despair in her bi-colored eyes.

They’d appeared in the healing ward and Marlena, the head healer, was quick to temper the situation for which Luna was grateful. She ushered the panicked Adora and Glimmer away and then set about removing Luna’s casts to better assess the damage. Luna tried to ignore the absolute agony of her fractured bones being shifted about. She was not entirely successful, whimpering as Marlens removed the last bandage.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” she soothed at the same time she handed Luna a much more normal colored concoction. “Drink this. It will help with the pain while I reset these.”

Luna did as she was told, grimacing as the bitter liquid slid down her throat. She watched Marlena work in silence for a while, the pain diminishing with each passing minute. From outside the room she could hear the frantic pacing of Adora’s boots, and the murmur of distant voices as her mothers talked about her. But Marlena was calm. Luna had always appreciated that about the gentle healer. As a baby and even beyond that, she’d made plenty of trips to the healers ward for one reason or another. Whether she was sick (for the hundredth time), or struggling to breathe after playing too hard with her friends, or covering herself in scrapes and cuts from hairbrained schemes… Marlena was a steady presence. Quiet and calm she’d patch Luna up and send her on her way. She’d gotten to know the healer quite well over the years. Considering her nearly family by now anyway. She’d quite literally been present for Luna’s entire life.

“Is it bad?” Luna asked Marlena finally as she worked--back at Dryll, Entrapta hadn’t given her a straight answer.

“No, dear,” Marlena gave her a soft smile. “A few hairline fractures. Painful, yes. But it won’t take them long to heal.”

Nodding, Luna looked down at her ribcage, watching it rise and fall with each shallow breath as Marlena bandaged her. “I break easy.”

She forced a shaky chuckle and Marlena glanced up at her, expression unreadable. Luna almost regretted her words, until finally the older woman broke the silence, finishing her bandaging and cupping Luna’s cheek in a soft hand. 

“The most precious things often do.”

Luna wasn’t expecting the kind words, and along with the tenderness in the old woman’s eyes, she felt her throat begin to burn with barely contained tears. The emotional turmoil didn’t go unnoticed as Marlena patted Luna’s cheek comfortingly and finished her work quickly. Once her fractured bones had been properly set to heal, she was ushered back out into the hall.

Luna kept her eyes on her boots as she shuffled towards her still clearly very frantic parents. Almost immediately, she felt Adora’s hand on her uninjured shoulder, pulling her into a somewhat cage-like embrace. Luna was small for her age anyway, but around Adora she sometimes felt ridiculous. Even at eleven, her forehead barely reached the blonde’s shoulder. She supposed it was an okay place to hide though, as she buried her face in the fabric of her mother’s shirt, tuning out the quiet conversation they briefly shared with Marlena.

Luna stayed hidden, her arm that wasn’t tied in a sling coming up to toy with the hem of Adora’s shirt. She picked at the slightly frayed fabric, ignoring the world around her until suddenly she felt Glimmer’s hand on her back and in an instant they had all reappeared together in her bedroom.

“Are you alright?” Luna heard Adora ask, although her face was still pressed against the blonde’s shoulder so it was impossible to see the worry she knew was on her mother’s face.

“Are you still in any pain?” Glimmer asked too from behind her.

Luna shook her head in response and there was a brief shuffle as Adora ushered her towards her bed. She helped Luna ease down against the mattress as Glimmer propped her pillows up to avoid putting too much pressure on the injuries. Luna stared at her lap, playing with the blankets as her parents sat on the bed too. Glimmer was closer; she kept soothing a hand through Luna’s ruffled hair. It was comforting, but Luna recognized it as an anxious, repetitive gesture.

“I’m so sorry we weren’t there,” Glimmer said. “We didn’t know. If Entrapta had told us what happened… We wouldn’t have left you there.”

“I know,” Luna mumbled. That hadn’t really bothered her. Her bones would have been broken anywhere. It wasn’t an issue of feeling abandoned. Not by her parents anyway. “It’s fine.”

“We’ll talk to Entrapta,” Adora insisted, scooting a bit closer and placing a comforting hand on Luna’s leg. “And Mermista. I know it as… A game. But Nerida is older than you. She should know better--,”

“It wasn’t her fault,” Luna quickly insisted, finally looking up to meet her parents’ concerned gazes. “She didn’t do anything bad. I’m just--I should have been stronger.”

Both Glimmer and Adora stared at her for a few moments before exchanging baffled glances.

“And besides,” Luna choked back the frustrated tears threatening to rise. “It’s cool! It’s like… battle scars. I--fought the hardest, so--I’m the one who….,” Luna trailed off. Maybe in some other world her logic would have made sense. But here, she’d been beaten by another girl without powers and then slammed into a wall by one  _ with _ powers. She was nothing more than a pathetic excuse of a Princess. And one with the most responsibility, the biggest  _ legacy _ on her shoulders.

It wasn’t fair.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna forced the tears back even as they stung and burned her eyes and clogged her lungs and her body began to quiver. She knew crying would really hurt her ribs now anyway, and more so than that, she didn’t want to seem weaker than she already was. But the fight against her tears didn’t seem to matter. Glimmer was suddenly wrapping her (carefully) in her arms, pressing gentle kisses to her temple. Luna felt the flutter of her wings as they folded behind them.

Adora quickly joined them on her other side, placing herself against the pillows in a way that allowed Luna to use her shoulder as one instead. Part of Luna wanted to be angry as she gave into her parents’ embraces. They were  _ still _ coddling her, acknowledging her weakness and brokenness, not her strength. 

At the same time, she was tired and hurting and Glimmer’s warmth always calmed her. It reminded her of days when all she knew were soft feathers, and warm beds, and lullabies and stories of adventure. So she gave in, letting go of the desire to be strong for the time being and slumping as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. While Glimmer rocked her, Luna felt Adora’s hand on her uninjured arm, rubbing comfortingly. 

“You are strong, you know,” Adora finally spoke after a while, her voice almost timid. “Luna? You’re the strongest person I know. You just have… More limits than the others.”

Luna didn’t quite know how to process that odd compliment, so she just nodded. 

“It wasn’t a fair or safe situation to test your skills anyway,” Glimmer added and Luna felt her mother’s chin rest on top of her head, most likely so she could communicate silently with Adora.

“Right,” Adora agreed, her hand moving to rub Luna’s back. Her palm brushed over the tiny wings Luna wished she could feel. “Sparring is dangerous. And Entrapta didn’t set it up responsibly… You’ll never need it anyway, Luna. Etheria doesn’t have wars to fight anymore.”

“But Mermista teaches Nerida and Percy,” Luna mumbled, her face still pressed halfway into Glimmer’s shoulder. “And Catra teaches Ash how to use real knives and Willow told me that Scorpia makes her do drills with her Black Garnet powers every day. Even Aster--,”

“You want to be like the others?” Glimmer tried to clarify, her hand carding through Luna’s hair again.

No, that wasn’t really it. She did in a sense. Mostly she didn’t want to feel like a complete outcast. Like someone who didn’t belong in an entirely magical world. With the weight of Bright Moon and… She-Ra on her shoulders. She didn’t know how to explain it, everything felt too big and overwhelming and the potion was wearing off and her body  _ hurt _ .

So instead of answering, Luna just shook her head and murmured, “I’m tired.”

“Get some rest then,” Adora insisted, pulling the covers up as Glimmer carefully extracted herself from the embrace and lowered Luna against her pillows. “Do you want us to stay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Luna replied, although it wasn’t really an answer to the question, and the conflict on her parents' faces told her they felt the same way.

Leaning down, Glimmer pressed a kiss to her forehead at the same time that Adora squeezed her free hand. 

“We’ll check on you in a bit, okay? If you need something, please let us know…”

Luna nodded, watching as her parents left the room. The door closed behind them and Luna was left in quiet darkness as the moons rose in the sky and day slowly became night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .................... :----)


	4. Broken Feather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bunch of consecutive flashbacks to fill in the blanks before we move onto the P L O T.  
> TW: Chapter contains mentions of scars and graphic depictions of self harm and blood.
> 
> 10k words of angst and fluff, enjoy!

**17 Years Ago…**

Adora was an anxious person, she always had been.

Rare was it, that even after she joined the Rebellion, she accomplished what some might consider a ‘good night’s sleep’. Back during her days in the Horde, cadets in training were often awoken at random hours of the night to perform drills. It was meant to keep them on their toes, to prepare them for battle and surprise attacks from the enemy. But it also meant that Adora woke quiet frequently and slept fitfully for the rest of her life.

Last night had been an exception.

Yesterday was a whirled wind of activity. It had been her wedding day after all. Music, dancing, laughter, tears, rambunctious celebration, the crowning ceremony… It had all turned into a colorful blur in her head. All Adora really remembered about last night was tumbling into bed with her now wife and sealing their union in the most intimate way she could imagine…

A _few_ times.

This morning, as the early rays of dawn crept through their bedroom window, Adora woke slowly. She inhaled deeply, the scent of lavender and vanilla filling her lungs as her face was still buried in Glimmer’s hair. She’d fallen asleep wrapped around her wife’s much smaller body, cocooning her in strong arms, their legs tangled together. Now, Adora pulled away just far enough to stretch luxuriously, a sense of absolutely peace washing over her as she yawned and then curled back around her wife, nuzzling deeper into her sparkling hair. It was growing longer, now past her shoulders. Adora knew she’d grown it out in a sort of tribute to her own mother. Adora still felt a twinge of grief wash through her whenever she walked by the late queen’s mural, even three years after she’d sacrificed herself for their future.

_‘Take care of each other.’_

Adora had taken the words to heart, and while she knew it applied to all of her friends… and all of Etheria… The words held special meaning for Glimmer. She was Adora’s to protect, and love, and cherish now and forever. That’s what her own vows had said the day before. And vice versa. And maybe that knowledge was what had allowed Adora to sleep so peacefully. The war was long over. The dangers they’d faced since had passed. Now they had nothing but a bright future ahead.

Glimmer shifted suddenly in Adora’s arms, murmuring half-awake nothings as the sun began burning through their window in earnest. Adora’s heart swelled with a sudden surge of affection for the woman in her arms. She pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Glimmer’s shoulder, squeezing around her middle and allowed long fingers to stroke aimless patterns into her bare and _very_ soft skin.

Glimmer grumbled again, her face scrunching against the sun, before she rolled in Adora’s arms to face her, burying her nose against the blonde’s shoulder.

“Good morning…,” Adora chuckled, letting her lips brush Glimmer’s forehead. It was almost strange to see her without the crown but gave her so much more kissing room.

“S’too bright,” Glimmer growled, her voice slurred, thick and heavy. She breathed in, exhaling a heavy sigh and nuzzling further into Adora’s chest. “Too early…”

“Lucky for us,” Adora mused softly as she ran her fingers through Glimmer’s hair, watching the sparkles catch the sunlight. “Micah told me he’d take care of all royal duties today. Meaning we can spend as much of the day as we want right here.”

Despite Glimmer’s reluctance to leave the cocoon of her arms, Adora felt her lips curl into a smile against her collar.

“Right here. All day,” Glimmer decided as she pressed a gentle kiss to Adora’s chest, directly over her heart. Adora felt it begin to thump a little more quickly.

“Just like this?” Adora teased her slightly, running gentle hands over her back, ghosting the sensitive feathers of her little wings. Glimmer shivered, sliding her own hands around Adora’s waist to the small of her back and then rising higher to trace the ends of old scars.

“Just like this.”

“Sounds good to me…,” Adora hummed, kissing Glimmer’s forehead three times in lazy succession before relaxing into the pillow once more and letting her eyes slide shut.

“I love you,” Glimmer murmured into her neck, lips soft and vaguely ticklish. The confession was sudden, but not unwelcome. Adora had been wanting to scream it from the rooftops since she’d opened her eyes this morning.

“I love you too,” she moved strong hands to Glimmer’s hips and pulled her closer, as if they could somehow melt into one another—become one. Every inch of them was pressed together now, but it didn’t feel close enough.

“We’re married,” Glimmer mused and Adora could only imagine how bright the sparkle in her eyes must be right now.

“We are,” Adora giggled. It bubbled out of her excitedly and suddenly she could feel Glimmer’s heartbeat fluttering against her own. She waited… yearning for them to sync.

“I used to imagine it…,” Glimmer admitted, and Adora stroked her back comfortingly, knowing she was still self-conscious about the almost childishly fantastical crush she’d had on Adora when she’d first joined the rebellion. “But in a very…. _Stupid_ way… I still have your name scribbled all over the diary.”

Adora knew she hadn’t written in said diary since her mother died, but that it contained all the deepest yearnings of Glimmer’s heart. From her desire to be a leader, to the need for her mother’s respect, to her love for Adora that had only grown in the years they’d known each other. Adora felt much the same. Her initial infatuation with the sparkly princesses had grown into a deep and unquestionable respect and love for the Rebellion’s Queen.

“That’s not stupid. I would have imagined it too. If I’d known what a wedding or marriage was at _all_ ,” Adora hummed, smiling as Glimmer finally extracted herself slightly to prop herself up on her elbow and gaze down at the blonde. The tender love in her eyes was almost too much to take in, but Adora made herself look. Made herself absorb it—remind herself that she deserved it. They both did.

Glimmer stroked her cheek with one soft hand, fingers tracing the light scars on her jawline. She didn’t speak, but smiled tenderly and then leaned down, pressing the softest kiss imagine able to Adora’s lips. Adora hummed with pleasure and her wife dipped down to kiss her again… and again… and again… And then one last time for good measure. This time, Adora threaded her fingers through Glimmer’s long locks as they spilled over her shoulders. She felt Glimmer smile against her and then flop down on the pillows to face her again, lavender eyes gazing into her soul.

“Last night was—,” Glimmer trailed off, an adorable pink blush coloring her cheeks and then she buried herself in Adora’s chest again, slipping one plush thigh between the blonde’s. Adora struggled to calm her racing heart as it sped up once again when her wife’s ( _her wife’s)_ enchantingly soft skin brushed so close to her core.

“Yeah…,” was all Adora could think to say in agreement.

It wasn’t their _first_ time… That had come not long after they’d become ‘official’. But last night held a certain deeper sense of intimacy that Adora wasn’t sure she’d ever experience again. A true expression of their commitment, or the love they held for one another. It had been slow and passionate and powerful and simply remembering flashes of it made Adora’s body flush warm with pleasure.

“I love you,” she murmured again, squeezing the thigh Glimmer had tucked between hers with her own.

Glimmer giggled, giddy and light. “You already said that.”

“How many more times do you think I can say it today?” Adora teased back, pecking Glimmer’s nose as she drew back to grin at the blonde.

A pink blush grew on Glimmer’s cheeks, her lips twisting in a failed attempt to hide the grin threatening to grow. Adora didn’t fight hers, she beamed and peppered Glimmer’s warm cheeks with kisses until Glimmer was laughing and squirming away. And then they were rolling and Adora assumed the same position she’d spent much of last night in, braced over her wife, bodies pressed together, eyes locked in a delicate gaze.

They paused, the laughter dying and then Adora was shocked to see a bit of the light die in Glimmer’s eyes. Her lavender gaze flickered away for a moment and then she looked back up, a wrinkle forming between her brows.

“Hey, um, I know it’s a little early for an existential crisis,” Glimmer teased, lifting one hand to cup Adora’s cheek, stroking the scars again with her thumb. Adora leaned into the touch, concern making her feel a bit shaky as she turned to kiss her wife’s palm.

“What’s wrong?” she murmured, her mind and body already screaming ‘ _fix it, fix it, fix it_ ,’ as her wife’s beautiful face saddened further at her words.

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just—,” Glimmer bit her lip, searching for her thoughts. “Do you think… We’ll ever lose this. Someday?”

“Lose… what?” Adora didn’t mean to sound dumb, but maybe her cluelessness was a good thing, because Glimmer let out a choked chuckle.

“ _This_ ,” she emphasized. Adora blinked. “This um… My dad called it a, uh, ‘honeymoon period’. Where all you can think about is the other person, how _much_ you love them, how they’re perfect… How nothing can go wrong. But—We both know that’s not true… I mean, think about all that’s happened to us so far.”

Adora’s frown deepened. She was still confused and now scared that her wife was already falling out of love with her the day _after_ they’d gotten married. “No. I—I mean, I don’t know. I _love_ you, Glim.” She tried to prove it by pressing a brief, but fierce, kiss to her lips. “I love you so much. That won’t change. Ever. I promise.”

“No, I know! I didn’t mean—,” Glimmer paused, biting her lip and then seeming to register the barely contained panic in Adora’s blue eyes because she slipped both hands around her neck and pulled her down for a much longer kiss. Adora sunk into her, despite the panic roiling inside, entranced by the softness of her lips and the brief flick of her wet tongue.

When Glimmer pulled back, her eyes were a little hazy, but she kept both hands on Adora’s cheeks, focusing her. “I didn’t mean it like that, ‘Dora. I’ve been _stupidly_ in love with you since I met you— _years_ ago. I think, what dad meant is that… As we get older, as things happen, as we grow and change as people… So will our—love? I guess… It might not always be what it is _now_ , in this very moment.”

Adora understood, and as she pondered it, she found the answer that came to mind didn’t scare her. “I think he’s right.” She kissed Glimmer’s thumb. “And I also don’t think that’s a bad thing. We’ll grow up. We’ll love each other differently. As we change, so will it. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t be those kids that fell in love in the middle of a battlefield all those years ago.”

She grinned when Glimmer giggled. “Mhm… Watching the beautiful blonde Horde soldier turn into an even _more_ beautiful blond-er demigoddess sure did a number on how gay I already was.”

Adora grinned with her, lowering herself more comfortably onto her elbows and brushing Glimmer’s stray bangs aside. “But it’s even different _now_ , compared to back then too, you know? What I feel for you now—It’s so much deeper. Maybe it’ll keep growing like that.”

“I hope so,” Glimmer agreed, her eyes beginning to sparkle again with unshed tears. “I want it to. I love you, Adora.”

“I love you too, Glim,” she murmured, lips hovering over her wife’s for one more kiss. “More than anything.”

They sealed the distance with another kiss and although Adora knew that one simple action could never truly express what she felt in her heart for her wife, she’d try every day to make it clear. Years ago, amidst a battle in a small town that had changed the course of her life, she’d found the other half of her heart.

* * *

**16 Years Ago—6 Hours Old…**

Adora didn’t set Luna down for the first six hours after she was born. At first, Glimmer wasn’t anything other than grateful for wife’s diligence, because the blonde’s constant doting attention let her _sleep._ It wasn’t until she woke up and saw the tired bags under Adora’s eyes and worn look on her face that she began to worry. Of course, Adora insisted she was fine, continuing to offer Luna a seemingly permanent home in her arms, only giving her up for the times she needed to eat. And even then, Adora hovered, watching with an intensity that only made Glimmer nervous. Even when she had the opportunity, she seemed to refuse rest. She’d sit in the edge of the bed and wait, leg bouncing. Or she’d pace the room, her eyes flitting nervously back to them every few seconds. As soon as she was able, she’d take the baby back and act as her mobile crib once again.

Glimmer only caught her taking cat naps, and even then, Luna rested on her chest and her eyes would snap open every few minutes—a panicked look in them before she registered the baby still against her. Glimmer wasn’t sure if she slept through the night any better, because _she_ took full advantage of those hours. She wanted to find Adora’s constant attention sweet. But she knew that it wasn’t all coming from a place of love. Of course, Adora loved their baby, she didn’t doubt that. But what she knew about her wife, from the years of comforting her in their darkest moments, was that Adora was afraid. She was a tightly wound bundle of anxiety, only exacerbating it by denying herself _any_ real sleep. But Glimmer didn’t even know how to begin a conversation with her. How could she blame Adora? How could she look at her and reassure her that nothing else would go wrong when their child had been born without a pulse.

She knew, without words, Adora was forcing herself to remain conscious indefinitely. Because if she wasn’t there when something happened… If she wasn’t there to _fix it_ again… Adora didn’t need to explain it to her for Glimmer to know the guilt would destroy her.

Even still, Glimmer realized that not getting any sleep wasn’t going to solve anything. And Adora needed to trust that there were others surrounding her just as capable of helping Luna. But she was stubborn and adamant and refused any time Glimmer offered to let her nap for just a bit.

After two weeks of this; her wife now resembling a pale and sunken ghost more than the golden warrior she was so accustomed to, Glimmer approached her father for help. Together they devised a plan to convince Adora to submit to a sleep spell. A magically induced slumber that would refresh her completely. What Glimmer and Micah both omitted when offering her the spell, was that it would keep her unconscious for well over twenty-four-hours. Glimmer felt guilty lying to her wife at first—Until Adora tried to turn down their offer as well and Glimmer had to hold herself back from tackling her onto the bed and knocking her out right then and there.

Finally, after _much_ calmer reassurance from Micah, coupled with utter exhaustion from Adora—the blonde lay down tentatively on their bed and closed her eyes as her family performed the spell. Her body slumped instantly, face smoothing over into a peaceful mask that Glimmer hadn’t seen for weeks.

“Alright,” Micah mused as he patted Adora’s arm and then headed for Luna’s crib. “Keep an eye on her for a bit to make sure she doesn’t fight the spell. If we’re lucky, she’ll get a solid 24 hours in before it wears off.”

Glimmer took a seat beside her wife on the bed as Micah hoisted the infant into his arms and took her from the room. Reaching out, Glimmer brushed Adora’s messy bangs away from her face, fingers trailing down to stroke her cheek. After a few quiet moments of simply studying Adora’s sleeping face, Glimmer lay down beside her, curling against her side, one arm slung over her middle to feel her steady breathing.

“I don’t know if you can hear me right now,” she murmured as she tucked her face into Adora’s neck. “But I need you to take care of yourself too, Adora. I need _you_ … I love how much you care. But I hate how afraid you are.” She exhaled a shaky breath, willing the tears gathering in her eyes not to fall. “You’ve always taken the responsibility of everyone you love onto your shoulders.”

Glimmer squeezed her eyes shut as she recalled the brief debate they’d had with Casta and Micah after the ceremony went awry. Back then, they weren’t even sure the spell would take. When it did, they weren’t certain it would last.

“But this—It isn’t _all your fault_ … We all played a part in it. And you _saved_ her.” Glimmer paused to listen to the thrum of Adora’s steady heartbeat. She wasn’t sure what else to say. Adora might not even be able to hear her anyway. So, Glimmer simply wrapped herself tightly around Adora’s body, murmuring how much she loved her before allowing herself to drift off to sleep as well.

Micah had been correct, Adora _slept_. Glimmer knew she needed it, but after hour 12 of her wife’s body lying absolutely still on their bed, her own nerves began to flare. They took turns watching her in shifts, when it was Micah’s turn, Glimmer was able to sneak Luna out with her to see Bow and Catra. Both Bow and Catra’s had brought their own young kids to play.

Bow’s daughter was little more than eight months---as was the small magicat orphan Catra had adopted. Ash—perhaps due to his cat like development—was able to crawl around more effectively than the baby girls, and his rounded pupils betrayed his fascination with the little blonde bundle.

Bow refused to let Luna go when it was his turn to hold her, even when Ash climbed all over him to get a better look. He cradled the girls in both arms, tears wetting his cheeks and he ‘aww-ed’ over them. Catra didn’t say much, but the flick of her ears and gentle sweep of her tail were enough of a giveaway. She sat in silence beside Glimmer, her back turned just enough so that it brushed the Queen’s and watching as the boys played with the babies. The touch was familiar and comforting enough to make Glimmer forget how devastatingly rocky the start of her own family was. At least for a little while.

Adora finally woke later that night, when Glimmer sat beside her, rocking a quietly whining Luna back to sleep. Her body shifted suddenly, the spell wearing off slowly it seemed, because she couldn’t even fully open her eyes at first. Her eyelids fluttered and she rolled onto her side, one slightly floppy arm reaching.

“Glim?” she murmured, her voice slurred.

“Right here, Adora,” Glimmer took the hand reaching for her and pulled it close, resting it on top of Luna’s little back. “We both are.”

Adora’s fingers flexed and then relaxed, stroking the material of Luna’s onesie. Her blue eyes cracked open finally, still bleary and unfocused.

“Is she okay?” Adora murmured.

“She’s fine.”

“How…,” Adora squeezed her eyes shut and then forced them open, attempting to shake off the last of the spell. “It’s dark out, how long was I asleep?”

“Um…About twenty-three hours…”

Adora nodded, blinked slowly, and then her eyes shot open. “What?!”

“Adora, don’t freak out,” Glimmer attempted to deflect any potential panic immediately, “You needed it. And everything was absolutely fine. Okay? _She’s_ fine. She doesn’t need you watching her like a hawk every second of the day to be fine. Do you hear me, Adora?”

The panicked light in Adora’s eyes had faded at Glimmer’s words. She shifted closer to them, keeping her hand on Luna’s back, but pressing her face against Glimmer’s hip. “If something happens, I need to be awake to heal her again---,”

“This castle is full of people who can help her if something happens…,” Glimmer countered, although she knew that was a weak argument, considering the healers who hadn’t been able to do anything upon her birth. “Refusing to sleep and running yourself into the ground isn’t going to help her, Adora.”

Adora squeezed her eyes shut, hiding her face further and Glimmer had to strain to hear her. “What if we sleep and we wake up and she’s—,”

Glimmer felt her heart drop, body going cold. It was a possibility, she supposed—no matter how hard it was to consider it. But that didn’t excuse either of them destroying themselves to be awake for what might or might not be inevitable.

“You can’t think like that,” Glimmer responded, nudging Adora until she pulled away from her hiding place and offering her Luna. Adora took her without hesitation, sitting up slightly so that she could prop the baby against her shoulder like a little blanket.

“We have to stay positive,” Glimmer continued. “She’s getting stronger every day. She’s _your_ daughter… She’ll be fine.”

A tiny smile touched Adora’s lips as she reached an arm around to pull Glimmer into the snuggle pile. “She’s _yours_ too.”

“Extra stubborn,” Glimmer agreed, leaning into Adora’s free shoulder and closing her eyes.

* * *

**13 Years Ago—3 Years Old…**

Adora didn’t often join Bow and Entrapta (and sometimes Catra) on their missions to the cosmos. But this time she’d been asked specifically to come examine a reading of a planet emitting old First Ones signals. As they’d gotten closer, Mara’s ship had registered the signal coming from a planet called ‘Eternia’. The data was old, and partially corrupted, and by the time they’d reached the coordinates displayed on Darla’s screen---They were surrounded by nothing but empty space and debris.

Eternia—even if it had been here once—was long gone.

Adora knew, deep down, it had been Prime. His wicked voice still rang in her head. Cruel words mocking her; the ‘last’ of this enemies. Whatever this planet may have held for her—answers, past, her birth family… It was gone.

Needless to say, despite Bow and Entrapta’s apologies, the discovery had rattled her. She’d retreated to her quarters as the others set coordinates for their next destination. Space missions were hard enough on their own. Long and tiresome and boring—Adora often got homesick. But it felt worse now, exacerbated by the knowledge of the destruction of what might have been her own home planet. She missed her family back on Etheria more than anything—yearning to be cuddled in a sleepy warm pile, holding them both close to her heart.

Luckily, Bow made sure to keep a powered commpad on her bedside table. He had one as well to keep in contact with his own wife and child. It was the only thing that made long space nights bearable, in Adora’s opinion.

Switching it on, she dialed up the connection to Bright Moon, hoping Glimmer would pick up. She wasn’t sure what time it was back on Etheria—space didn’t make that easy either.

Adora waited, tense, her body quivering slightly with uncontrolled shivers. She felt sick and cold and clammy all at once until suddenly the screen blinked awake and she could see Glimmer—or rather, her collarbone. The screen shook and Adora heard a bit of a muffled commotion as Glimmer called out to their daughter.

A smile tugged at Adora’s quivering lips as Glimmer’s face came into focus, too close and slightly shaky still, but she greeted Adora with a grin.

“Hey you…,” Glimmer’s smile turned soft. “Sorry, gimme one sec. I wasn’t sure when you were calling and we just got done with bath time.”

“Should I call back tomorrow?” Adora asked, not at all wanting to hang up, but in her fragile state wanting to avoid burdening her family with her presence.

“No!” Glimmer made her way to their bed, scooting up against the pillows and finally the screen went still, most of her wife’s torso and head in frame now. “No, we’ve been waiting to hear from you all day. Hang on—Lu, come here! Mommy’s on the commpad. Come say hi.”

Adora’s heart twisted as she heard Luna squeal off screen and then the rapid pitter patter of her feet. The screen shook briefly again as Luna presumably launched herself onto the bed and then her enormous blue eyes and forehead appeared on screen—entirely blocking Glimmer out.

“Hi, mommy,” she mumbled in her still-learning-to-talk-slightly-slurred-baby-voice.

“Hi, baby,” Adora felt like her grin might split her cheeks, tears burning the corners of her eyes.

“C’mere,” she heard Glimmer chuckle and then Luna was settling back in her wife’s lap, allowing Adora a better view of both of them.

Luna’s blonde and peach hair was down around her shoulders, still damp from her bath and curling around her chubby cheeks. Once everything had finally gone still, Luna peering curiously at Adora’s image in the screen, Glimmer re-greeted her.

“Hi,” she giggled, one hand stroking through Luna’s damp hair. “How was space today?”

“Big,” Adora replied, her eyes flickering from one perfect being to the other—unable to decide who to focus on after the emotional toll of the day’s discovery. “Empty. I miss home. I miss you.”

“We miss you too” Glimmer’s smile dimmed slightly.

“Mommy,” Luna interrupted, leaning forward, her eyes pinned somewhere slightly below the camera. “When are you home?”

Two weeks at the most. It already felt like way too long.

“Soon, Lu.” She replied, cursing the tightening of her throat.

“How soon?” Luna pressed.

Adora paused, pretending to think. “Fourteen days. Can you count that many?”

Luna nodded furiously and held up all ten fingers. “I can count!”

“Count for me then?” Adora teased. “I’ll be back after fourteen, okay?”

Luna pursed her lips, looking more confused before Glimmer kissed the top of her head and murmured, “Do you wanna show Mama your drawing that you did today?”

“Yeah!” Luna scrambled up so quickly she knocked the commpad back, giving Adora a quick view of the ceiling before Glimmer retrieved it.

“Sorry,” she chuckled, setting it back on her lap. “She’s very excited.”

Adora’s smile did not reach her eyes. She touched her fingertips to the screen, running them down Glimmer’s pixelated cheek. While Luna was gone, she gave herself a moment to be vulnerable.

“Today was hard,” she mumbled.

Glimmer’s eyes searched her face—Adora could practically hear her brain spinning to find an explanation for her pain. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” Adora admitted, letting her hand fall back to her lap. “I want to be home. I miss you both so much.”

“We’ll be here waiting,” Glimmer assured her softly. Adora could tell she didn’t quite know what to say, or how to comfort, but the loving smile on her lips was enough. “We love you, ‘Dora.”

Before she could reply, Luna bounded back into the frame, holding up a messy piece of paper for Adora to see.

“Oh, wow!” Adora ooh-ed over the almost unintelligible scribbles. “That’s so good, honey.”

“Yeah,” Luna agreed proudly, peeking around the paper to point at the crown Adora realized she recognized.

“Is that She-Ra?”

“Yeah,” Luna puffed out her chest proudly.

“You drew me?”

“No!” She frowned suddenly. “Me!”

Adora blinked, the pieces coming together. “ _You’re_ She-Ra?”

“Yeah,” Luna beamed, sitting back against Glimmer and setting the paper in her lap, studying it in awe.

Chest constricting with pride and love for her little girl and her enormous dreams, Adora put a hand over her face, subtly wiping away the tears spilling slightly. Luna didn’t seem to share the same big emotions. She yawned suddenly, setting her drawing aside and resting her head on Glimmer’s shoulder.

“It might be bedtime,” Glimmer mused, kissing the top of Luna’s head. “You missed the amazing burst of energy she had about an hour ago.”

Adora didn’t want them to go—not that she would keep her daughter awake to accompany her through her own pain… But still—she dreaded being alone tonight.

Glimmer seemed to be of the same mind—unsurprisingly. “Will you be okay?”

“Yeah,” Adora assured her, voice choked. “I’ll be okay. I should get some sleep too.”

“It’s Mommy’s bedtime?” Luna asked, suddenly perking up.

“Sure is, Sunshine,” Adora replied.

“I’ll sing,” the princess began without preamble, mimicking what both Glimmer and Adora did for her on nights when sleep didn’t come easy.

“You’re gonna sing for Mommy?” Glimmer clarified and Luna nodded determinedly.

“Mommy, lay down,” she instructed, pursing her lips in defiance until Adora did as she was told and lay down against her single pillow. She propped the commpad against the wall, settling as well as she could into the uncomfortable cot.

“Your blankey,” Luna reminded her, and Adora reached down, pulling the scratchy sheet up to her chin.

“I’m ready,” Adora assured her and Luna began to mumble an unintelligible tune. It wasn’t one Adora really remembered singing to her, and she couldn’t make out the words. But Luna was reaching out, placing one tiny hand on the screen as she sang and Adora did the same, their palms pressed together across space and time. The tears rolled freely down her cheeks now, homesickness gnawing at her heart like an angry beast.

She listened quietly, smiling through her tears as Luna’s voice lulled her through space.

The little girl trailed off after a few minutes, seemingly satisfied with her lullaby—leaning back against Glimmer and sighing to prove it.

“That was beautiful, sweetheart. Thank you,” Adora croaked through a tear choked voice.

“Are you ready to sleep too?” Glimmer murmured to Luna, who’s eyes were already fluttering. “Tell Mama good night.

“G’night Mama,” Luna leaned forward again, following up their usual nighttime routine by pressing a wet kiss to the screen—leaving a blurry mark. “Love you.”

Glimmer met Adora’s eyes, mouthing the words as well as she cuddled Luna in her arms. Adora wanted more than anything, in that moment, to be able to hold them too.

“We’ll see you soon,” Glimmer assured her and Adora simply nodded wordlessly in return. “Call us tomorrow if you can?”

Another silent and furious nod through tears as Glimmer blew her a kiss and Luna yawned again and then the screen went blank.

Adora was left alone in the dark vacuum of space. But her heart was full and warm. Maybe she would never know who her birth family was. But the one waiting for her back on Etheria was worth all the stars in the universe.

* * *

**12 Years Ago—4 Years Old…**

Glimmer was on a diplomatic mission in the Kingdom of Snows with her father today, meaning Adora was left with the task of babysitting their four-year-old. Not that Adora ever considered it anything less than her normal responsibility as a mother, of course. In fact, she often looked forward to the days where it was just her and Luna. The baby even accompanied her to a few morning meetings, sitting in her lap at the head of the table and scribbling furiously with crayons on a sheet of paper as the delegates and officials discussed Bright Moon business around her.

Today, while General Aveline had discussed rumors of old Horde cells gathering in the Crimson Waste, Luna had proudly illustrated three stick figures that (according to her) were meant to be herself, Adora and Glimmer. Adora decided not to point out that her hair wasn’t green, and that Glimmer wasn’t, in fact, taller than her and also that Luna didn’t have access to the sword she was carrying in the drawing—Instead she grinned and ‘oooh-ed’ over her daughter’s illustration, offering to hang it on her bedroom wall later.

Luna, entirely pleased with herself, agreed; before taking a red crayon and scribbling over the entire page in an artistic rage. The disastrous illustration now hung above her bed. After that, they’d spent a few hours in the gardens. Half of Adora’s attention was devoted to the commpad she’d used to call Bow with and discuss his plans for visiting Bright Moon next. He and Entrapta were currently in space once more—this time without her. But with the modern tech their explorations had produced, it was easy as breathing to communicate with her faraway friends.

She’d tried to call Luna over to see the inside of the spaceship on Bow’s end, but the little girl was too busy attempting to catch butterflies to care. It wasn’t until she began rolling in dirt piles, covering her official ‘regal onesie’ in mud and grime, that Adora ended the call with Bow and took her inside.

Luckily, or at least Adora had been _told_ it was lucky, Luna loved baths. Particularly bubble baths. Which Adora started for her in the enormous bathtub (more like a pool) in she and Glimmer’s room. It even came with a waterfall feature.

Sliding into the warm water with her daughter, Adora scrubbed her down quickly. Luna was too distracted by the sea of bubbles to care that the scrubber was leaving her skin bright pink as the dirt came away.

“There’s mud in your ears, Luna,” Adora grumbled as she pushed the girl’s blonde hair aside to reach behind her tiny ears.

Luna flinched, squealing as the scrubber tickled. It made it ten times more difficult to get the mud off, but her giggling was too cute for Adora to really care. The bath continued long after Luna was clean. She’d brought a few of her favorite toys (Bow’s old battle table figurines) with her and was currently knocking them against each other on the side of the tub, making explosion noises as she did.

Adora watched her, amused, until Luna screeched ‘in character’, and threw the She-Ra toy into the center of the tub. It was deeper there, again akin to a pool, and Luna stared after the toy forlornly as it sank to the bottom.

“She-Ra drowned,” Luna mumbled sadly.

“Don’t say that,” Adora pushed off the side of the tub and waded to the middle. “I’ll rescue her for you.”

Reaching down, she felt around the bottom for the pointy edges of the toy. Wrapping her fingers around it, Adora stood up out of the water, arm raised victoriously.

“Aha! Got her!”

Luna’s sharp gasp sent a panicked chill down Adora’s spine and she whirled around to see if something was wrong.

“Mommy has an owie!” Luna’s blue eyes were round and fearful, glistening slightly.

Adora glanced down at herself, momentarily confused. She didn’t remember getting any recent injures… Maybe a scratch from the gardens somewhere? A bruise?

“No, mommy’s not hurt, honey,” she assured Luna as she waded back over to her. But Luna was not convinced. She used the side of the tub as leverage and inched around Adora, until she was behind her. And then Adora felt tiny warm (slightly damp) hands on her back, little fingers running over ancient scars and her blood ran cold. Curious new eyes lay upon old wounds and the blades of the past once again tore at calloused skin.

“Owies…,” Luna murmured sadly.

Adora froze, feelings as though she were drifting out of her own body as Luna jumped up and draped herself over Adora’s back, arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

“Does it hurt, mama?” she asked quietly.

Adora felt the scars as if they were brand new. She heard the shouts of her friends, the blast of the Horde tanks, the smell of smoke and blood. The branding heat of Catra’s claws and her cutting words as they sunk into her flesh. A permanent reminder of their shattered relationship.

“No,” she lied.

The scars still ached, and not in the physical sense, although they did tend to get stiff. But the weight they carried; the pain associated with them—it still lingered. Adora thought, maybe, it always would. But there was no way she could explain this to her four-year-old. Her four-year-old who _loved_ when Catra came to visit. Whose best friend was Catra’s own adopted child.

Luna slid down her back, patting the scars again with gentle baby hands before pressing a loud and exaggerated kiss to them.

“Mommy says kissing ouchies is magic!” she explained and then pressed her cheek lovingly to Adora’s back. “All better.”

Fighting the tears burning in her eyes, the strangling tightness in her throat, Adora sniffed and turned around to face her daughter—and hide the scars. She held up the forgotten She-Ra toy to distract her.

“Hey, do you wanna hear the story of how She-Ra saved Salineas from the evil aliens?”

“Yeah!” Luna’s eyes went wide and round in amazement and she snagged the She-Ra toy.

For the next ten minutes, Adora retold the story of how the Rebellion had retaken Salineas… avoiding the detail that the same person who had given her these scars, was the one to burn the ocean kingdom to the ground in the first place. But Luna didn’t seem to care about the omissions, laughing with glee as Adora added the splash of bath water and bubbles to the retelling of her story. They finally climbed out as the water went cold, Adora careful to keep her back hidden so as to avoid any more curious questions. She hadn’t felt shame over the scars in a long time, and her baby being the one to reignite those feelings was the last thing she’d expected.

She carried Luna back to her room as the little girl’s eyes finally slipped shut, exhausted from a day of fun. Adora tucked her in, kissed her forehead and then left the room—leaving the door cracked just a smidge the way Luna liked so the ‘monsters’ wouldn’t get her. Then she returned to her own room and sat on the bed, staring at her hands folded in her lap as the last vestiges of daylight turned to dark.

The Battle of Bright Moon came back to her in full force, memories vivid and horrible. And then the rest of her journey followed. The Portal. The last words she’d heard from Angella. The Heart pulsing through her body. The broken sword. The sight of Horde Prime’s ships on the horizon. Watching Glimmer’s body collapse under the weight of the Failsafe.

Her scars felt deep. They pierced her entire body until the weight of the entire world pressed down on her back.

She didn’t even notice Glimmer return, not even when the room lit up with a chime and a flash of light.

“Adora?”

Her wife’s voice was distant. But then Glimmer was kneeling in front of her where she sat at the edge of the bed, hands on her knees and gentle lavender eyes pleading.

“Are you alright?”

Adora wanted to say yes. She _tried_ to say yes. But her throat closed, and she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“ _No._ ”

Glimmer was wrapped around her immediately as Adora began to sob. They curled against the pillows at the head of their bed, Glimmer’s wings acting as a shield to block out the world. The soft pink feathers tickled her skin, a comforting touch as Adora clung to her wife, crying into her shoulder. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware that she was ruining Glimmer’s outfit with tears and snot, but her wife didn’t seem to care, she held Adora closer and kissed her forehead and let her cry until she had nothing left to give.

When she lay there empty, sniffling and shaking, Glimmer finally prodded. “What’s wrong?”

Adora kept her eyes closed, focusing on the feeling of Glimmer’s hand stroking through her hair, her warmth and calming scent.

“Luna saw… Um… She saw my scars today…” Adora waited for a reaction, but Glimmer remained silent, listening. “And I—I didn’t even know what to tell her, Glim. She loves Catra. But it brought everything back and I realized how _much_ there is to tell her… So much to explain to her about our lives. And it’s _too much.”_

She choked another sob, frustrated with herself for being so weak. But she couldn’t help it, the panic was overwhelming and even Glimmer’s touch felt like fire now.

“I just wanted things to be simple. This was supposed to be our happy ending. But I can’t just pretend that everything that got us here didn’t exist. It’s all still so hard to think about though and I don’t know if it’ll ever hurt any less!”

Adora began to shake again, covering her face with her hands even though the tears were long gone.

“Adora…,” Glimmer’s own voice was wobbling. “It will hurt less, someday. I promise. Maybe it won’t ever truly be gone. But you won’t feel it so intensely.”

“What if I do, Glim? What if it always haunts me—,”

A sudden bang against their door, startled them both.

“MAMA!” a shrill voice screeched.

Adora was about to bolt to see what was wrong, her own pain forgotten, when their toddler shoved their bedroom door open and stood tall in the doorway. She was holding the plastic sword Catra had brought her for her birthday, the ones the citizens of Thaymor had started to sell at fairs. It was a decent recreation of Adora’s old sword, and about two times the size of Luna.

She was dressed in her She-Ra patterned onesie, the symbol on her chest seeming to glow with the backlight from the hallway. Her face was fierce, round eyes determined as she charged across the room, the giant sword raised above her head.

“What are you—?” Adora was cut off as Luna launched herself onto the tall bed, scrabbling for purchase until Glimmer reached down to tug her up by the back of her onesie. She stood up, wobbling across the mattress, even more unbalanced by the sword now dragging behind her, before plopping down between them and gazing up at Adora.

“Mommy is crying,” she explained. “And I’m She-Ra! So I have to protect her.”

She patted her chest to make that point explicitly clear and then set the sword down and leaned into Adora. A tiny hand came up to pat the tears away from her cheek.

“Don’t cry, Mommy,” she murmured, which of course made Adora burst into a fresh round of tears. And then Glimmer was crying too, and Luna looked frantically between both of them.

“Nooo,” she whined, picking up the sword again and trying to hold it up. She didn’t know the catchphrase, or she’d forgotten it, because she just made a wooshing noise instead and tapped them both with the tip of the sword. “All better!”

Adora choked out a laugh and pulled Luna against her so tightly that the girl squirmed uncomfortably and whined loudly. Loosening her grip, but keeping her daughter close, Adora pressed a wet kiss to her cheek and murmured, “You _are_ my hero. Did you know that?”

Luna grinned and nodded her agreement. “Yeah.”

“Oh, you agree?” Chuckling at the child’s prideful response, Adora flipped her over and blew obnoxious raspberries on her belly. Luna squealed with laughter, kicking her tiny legs out in a dangerous windmill. Glimmer ducked out of the way of a particularly wild blow just in time, avoiding the bed entirely as Luna and Adora took over in a dangerous wrestling match.

What Adora didn’t see, as she leaned back just in time to catch her daughter as she _hurled_ herself across the mattress and into Adora’s arms—was her wife watching both of them from the afar, a soft and loving smile gracing her lips.

Luna tried her best to play fearsome warrior She-Ra, until Adora lifted her up and ‘flew her’ by propping the toddler up on her feet and holding her hands to keep her stable. The baby switched to flying noises then, giggling and ‘whooshing’ until Adora landed her carefully back on the mattress. She scrambled up, still bubbling with wild energy, and collapsed onto Adora’s stomach, growling in her best intimidating impression of She-Ra.

Glimmer had returned to the bedside by now, donned in her sleepwear. She slipped onto the mattress beside them, casting Adora a quick look that said, ‘I love you both, but it is now far past her bedtime and she has way too much energy.’

Smiling wordlessly at her wife, Adora simply placed a gentle hand on Luna’s back as she squirmed, stroking up and down the golden patterns on the onesie. Luna stilled immediately—her fearsome growls quieting, and the little legs ceasing to flail. Adora snickered to herself, tears long forgotten as Luna’s head flopped fully onto her stomach and little snores filled the room.

Adora continued rubbing the little warrior’s back long after she’d fallen asleep and Glimmer had turned off the lights, curling up against both of them. Luna was still draped slightly uncomfortably over Adora’s middle, but the blonde wasn’t about to move her any time soon. The panic of the evening was gone. Taken away by her little angel.

Her hero.

* * *

**12 Years Ago—Always…**

Adora exhaled the breath she’d been holding in a shaky sigh as Glimmer’s lips landed against her bare shoulder. She heard a quiet rustle and then her wife’s wings folded around them, a safe cocoon, the moonlight shining through the cracks in the shimmering feathers. Adora let her eyes flutter shut, pressing her nose further into the crook of her folded arms as Glimmer’s lips moved down the expanse of her shoulders to the tops of her ancient scars.

It had been an arduous process to get them to the point they were now. Adora on her stomach—back, scars, body, heart, all exposed to Glimmer in a position she couldn’t easily escape. She was weak like this. Vulnerable and exposed. And at first, the very idea of it had been terrifying. Until it struck her, _obviously_ , she had nothing to fear around Glimmer. There was nothing that _would_ make her run. Nothing that would hurt.

As Glimmer’s lips brushed over the first of the scars, her fingers found the others, nails digging in just slightly as she trailed them down Adora’s back.

Shivering, Adora remembered expecting panic the first time Glimmer had touched the scars like this. It was almost smothering when it didn’t come. When all she felt were the unspoken word Glimmer was trying to convey.

‘ _Mine._ ’

In a sense, it was the same word Catra had carved into her back all those years ago. But the meaning it held was different. Adora didn’t know if she could fully explain it the way she simply _felt_ it. Glimmer gave herself to Adora as much as she claimed her.

It wasn't like Catra's ' _mine_ ', whose words implied _'you belong to me, I deserve you, so comply or hurt me again._ '

Glimmer's ' _mine_ ' whispered to her _'your heart is mine to protect, your love is mine to cherish'_.

 _‘You’re mine. I’m yours. These are beautiful_.’

Underneath her wife’s touch the scars didn’t feel quite so ugly and large and obtrusive. Her gentle fingers made them feel like something powerful. Like something she should be proud of.

Adora squeezed her eyes shut, tears beginning to sting as Glimmer sighed against her skin, the pads of her fingers as soft as her feathers. Glimmer must have heard the shaky breath because she paused.

“Are you okay?” she murmured, her lips still brushing the scar tissue.

“Yeah,” Adora breathed out again, a harsh chuckle as she blinked the tears away. “Yesterday was just… A lot. Remembering all—you know, _all_ of my scars. There’s so many… All my mistakes.”

She choked up again despite her best efforts and Glimmer’s wings shifted closer around them, blocking out the harsh glow of the moons.

“They’re a part of you, Adora.”

“I _know_ …” That was what she hated the most.

But Glimmer continued. “They’re a part of your story. Your journey. All the things that made you who you are, that brought you to the Rebellion and She-Ra and your friends and _me_ and now Luna…”

Adora knew she was right, but she buried her face in her arms anyway, her shoulders shaking. “They make me look so—,”

_Worn? Broken? Used?_

She couldn’t find the words to express her disdain, but Glimmer tried for her.

“You’re beautiful, Adora,” she murmured, her kisses now landing against Adora’s half buried cheek. “Your scars are too. Every part of you is. I wish you’d see that.”

Adora choked a watery chuckle, peeking out of her arms to see her wife’s tender lavender gaze. “Hard to believe that when I look like some monster that crawled out of the Waste and _you—_ An actual angel…”

“Half angel,” Glimmer teased, nudging her until Adora rolled onto her back and then she sat back, resting her weight on the blonde’s hips and smirking down at her. “Besides—says the eight-foot-tall glowing demigoddess.”

“I’m only She-Ra _sometimes_ ,” Adora’s own teasing tone broke through the tears as she rested her hands on her wife’s ample hips and squeezed affectionately.

“That’s right,” Glimmer agreed, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her nose. “And you’re Adora all the rest. And _she_ is who I fell in love with. She’s the one with the strongest heart, and the noblest of intentions, and sometimes the densest woman in the room.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to be nice to me,” Adora laughed, bucking her hips in an attempt to throw Glimmer off balance. She almost succeeded too but Glimmer’s wings fluttered a few times to rebalance her and then she dove forward, pressing tiny tender kisses to Adora’s cheeks in a flurry.

“I’m always nice to you,” Glimmer insisted between pecks. “But you know I’m also _always_ going to be the one to remind you not to be so ridiculously stubborn and hard on yourself—,”

“ _Okay_ ,” Adora cut her off, putting her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders and pushing her far enough away to stop the onslaught of kisses. “My scars are beautiful, is that what you want to hear?”

“No,” Glimmer’s eyes sparkled. “It’s what I want _you_ to hear.”

It was almost amazing, Adora mused, how quickly her wife could still pull the rug out from under her, even after all these years. How she held Adora’s heart in the palm of her hand. How simple words, so full of love, could absolutely take her apart.

Despite Adora’s best efforts, her face contorted, and she began to cry again. Hands rising to cover the tears, she heard Glimmer’s gentle (and slightly amused) hum and then her wife removed said hands and kissed her tears.

“Adora…,” she sighed, rolling to lay next to the blonde, one wing acting as a shield against the world again.

“I’m sorry,” Adora sobbed, turning to bury her face in her wife’s shoulder. “I’m fine. I’ll be okay. Give me a sec…Then we can—you know…It’s _fine._ I’m fine.”

Glimmer’s laugh rang in her ears, light and airy, making Adora’s heart flutter as if she were a lovestruck teenager again.

“No, we are _not_ doing that tonight. Look at yourself.”

Adora frowned, stomach sinking. She’d ruined it. “Do you not want—me?”

Glimmer hummed, as if pretending to ponder it. “’Dora, please… You know that’s not true. I just think you’re more in need of a serious snuggle session right now.”

Pondering that, Adora pulled away from her wife’s shoulder to look her in the eye and ask, “… Little spoon?”

“As if I’d let you be anything else.” Glimmer pecked her nose, and then scooted back so Adora could roll over and curl against her.

The blonde took her wife’s arm, pulling it around her waist and then up slightly, so that her soft palm was splayed against Adora’s chest above her heart. They lay in silence for a few moments, the pounding of Adora’s heart practically beating in her ears.

“Feel this?” she murmured finally; voice small.

“Mhm… This,” Glimmer hummed, a giggle in her voice as she drummed her fingers against Adora’s skin. “Your heart.”

“Yeah…,” Adora felt her body flush, burning hot with vulnerable embarrassment as she pressed her hand down on top of Glimmer’s. “It’s yours. You know that, right? Forever. Always.”

Glimmer was quiet for a few moments and then Adora felt her lips against the back of her neck, a soft and shaky sigh ghosting her skin.

“Always, love,” Glimmer agreed.

* * *

**4 Years Ago—12 Years Old…**

Luna stared at herself in the body length mirror, knuckles white around the hilt of the dagger in her hand. She ran over her mental checklist one more time:

Her bedroom door was locked.

The dagger had been sharpened.

The bandages and antiseptic lay only a foot away on her bedside table.

She could do this. She’d be fine. It would only hurt for a bit and then she’d finally be rid of these stupid things.

Luna turned, twisting her torso in preparation. The tiny, deformed feathers sticking out of her back stared back at her. They’d been nothing more than little pink stubs for as long as Luna could remember. Never growing. Never changing. Annoying, broken bumps between her shoulders that just reminded her how broken she was too.

‘ _It probably won’t even hurt, I can’t feel them anyway’_ , she justified to herself as she raised the dagger with one hand, twisting to grasp one of the feathers with the other. Her hand shook as she angled the blade, trying to get close enough to her skin to avoid leaving stumps that looked ever stupider. Once she could feel the cool edge of the steel against her skin, she tightened her grip on a feather and swallowed her fear.

_‘Do it, do it, do it, do it.’_

She was wrong about it not hurting.

As she sliced the knife quickly through the tiny feather, her body screamed in protest, back lighting up in a blaze of fire. Doubling over, Luna gasped in pain, nearly dropping the knife as agony ripped up and down her back. She pulled her hand around, one tiny feather, now red with blood, lay resting in the center of her palm. Luna stared at it and then twisted around to try again. A dark streak of blood was already leaking down the planes of her bare back, flowing the stump of the already tiny feather. She’d have to make the next cut closer.

Or maybe if she dug in a bit more from the root…? Leaving bloodied and useless feather shafts was the last thing she wanted. If she could… She’d get rid of every possible instance that these things ever existed at all.

Knowing the pain was only going to increase, Luna aimed the tip of the dagger at the base of her wing, pressing slightly to test the bite. The cool steel stung, tip digging into her skin. She could feel another trickle of blood sprout from the small cut she’d made. With more force, and a shaking hand, she pressed in, digging for the very root of the wing itself.

The blade lodged, sharper than she’d realized, and in a pained reflex, she tugged it out—feeling her skin split and tear in the process. Gasping—grateful that adrenaline had taken away the worst of the pain—Luna turned to look at the damage once more. A long, jarring cut now trailed a few inches down from the base of her right wing. Blood poured from the wound like a trickling creek. Luna watched it stain her skin—almost entranced by the sight of her lifeforce flowing outside her body. The feathers still stuck out above it. Weak and useless. Severed.

Suddenly the handle of her bedroom door jiggled, and she could hear her mother’s voice.

“Luna? Are you in there?”

Luna held her breath, silent. If her mother heard her moving inside, she’d question the locked door, and most likely teleport inside before she could hide the damage. So, she held very still, waiting, knowing her mother was doing the exact same thing on the other side—listening for her.

After what seemed like a long while, Luna thought she heard the telltale sound of footsteps walking away. Blowing out a sigh of relief, she raised the knife again and prepped herself. Placing the knife against her skin she pulled quickly. Her shaking hand took a chunk of skin, but the feather didn’t come all the way off and Luna’s subsequent sob of pain was too loud. She heard the footsteps return quickly.

_‘No, no, no….’_

“Luna?” The knob jiggled again.

There was concern in her mother’s voice now, but before she could gather herself to make up some reassurance that she was alright. There was a chime and a flash of sparkles and Glimmer appeared in the center of her room, the sight of her daughter’s bare and bloodied back the first thing to greet her.

Luna turned to face her as she heard a sharp gasp escape her mother. She knew she must look like an absolute disaster, there was no explaining away what she was trying to do. She met her mother’s tearful gaze with one of her own; red and puffy face contorting into sobs as she dropped the knife into the puddle of blood collecting at her feet.

In a flurry of movement, she’d been wrapped in a blanket and ushered away from the mirror until she was wrapped in her mother’s arms on her bed. Glimmer’s frantic hands pressed the blanket into her back to stem the flow of blood.

It hurt—But Luna almost welcomed the pain. Despite the physical sensations, the rest of her had been mostly numb for the past eight minutes. The stinging in her back cleared her head and made her heart race—each beat an aching pulse she could feel in the bloodied stumps of her feathers.

She’d made a mistake.

She hadn’t managed to remove the feathers—she shouldn’t have tried in the first place—now they were worse—damaged—she was weak—pathetic—useless—

“Luna…,” Glimmer’s voice broke and Luna could feel tears dripping onto her head. “What are you _doing_?”

Numb, Luna pulled her fist out from beneath the blanket she was bundled in, holding out the bloodied feather she’d managed to severe for her mom to see. Glimmer’s own fingers ghosted over it, and Luna watched her skin turn pink with blood.

“…Why?” was all she seemed capable of asking.

Luna stared down at her palm; her own voice choked with tears as she answered. “I don’t need them. They won’t grow. They’re never gonna grow.”

“You don’t know that,” Glimmer tried to reason, her arms tightening around Luna. “Honey, mine didn’t start growing until I was in my twenties. You can’t—,”

“Mine are broken,” Luna mumbled, her finger tracing the sharp bend in the feather on her palm. Her voice went dull, almost robotic as she tried to distance herself from the pain. “I don’t need them.”

“Please don’t say that…,” Glimmer’s response was choked, her cheek pressed to the top of Luna’s head. “They’re still a part of you, even if they’re small. Seeing you _hurt_ yourself, Luna…Because you’re in pain—,”

Luna’s eyes flickered over to the tiny puddle of blood in front of her mirror.

“—that hurts _me._ ”

The sight of her own blood on the floor coupled with her mother’s words finally broke her. She hiccupped a sob and curled into a tight ball against Glimmer’s side, her fist clenched around the broken feather.

Glimmer held her tighter, her own body shaking as she rocked Luna back and forth like she so often had as a baby. Gentle hands ran up and down her back, careful to avoid touching the open wounds on her shoulders. Luna didn’t know what to say to explain herself, and Glimmer didn’t seem to know what to ask to get her to try. So they sat there holding onto one another, crying, until finally—Glimmer began to sing. A lullaby Luna remembered from her childhood; one she’d been told her grandmother used to sing as well.

The lullaby eventually soothed Luna’s tears enough for her heartache to come out in words.

“They’re so ugly,” she whimpered, her fingers twisting over the feather, turning it into a wet and wrinkled mess. “They just remind me of how useless I am… Because _they’re_ useless.”

Luna felt her mother’s own wings flutter around them, the soft pink feathers tickling her cheek. She wanted those. She wanted the angelic, gossamer wings that equaled protection and strength and beauty. She wanted the flight they could give her, the freedom. Instead, she had a few—now even _more_ broken—feathers protruding from her shoulders.

“You are _not_ useless,” Glimmer retorted, a hint of anger creeping into her tone as she squeezed Luna. “Not having powers doesn’t make you worthless. Look at your Uncle Bow. Or Entrapta. Or Catra. They don’t have powers either. They’re not worthless, are they?”

Luna sniffed angrily. She certainly respected all three of the people her mother had listed. But none of them carried the burden of being the only heir to the throne of Bright Moon. None of them bore the weight of Queen, or She-Ra, on their tiny shoulders. But her mother wouldn’t understand that. She’d been born with powers; she’d always had them.

So Luna remained silent.

It was of course, at that moment, that Adora came looking for them. She appeared in the doorway, peeking around the corner to see her family cuddled together on the bed.

“Glim, I was just—,”

Her blue eyes flickered to the stained sheets and then the puddle on the floor, the abandoned dagger and in an instant, she had crossed the room and dropped onto the bed on Luna’s other side.

“What happened?” she directed the question at Glimmer as her nervous hands ghosted carefully over Luna’s arms above the blanket.

Luna didn’t want her to know, shame making her ears burn. Glimmer was always soft with her, always tried to be understanding. But Adora punished her for her more reckless decisions. And being berated for permanently damaging herself was the last thing Luna wanted right now.

Luna was grateful, when Glimmer simply shook her head and pulled Adora towards them, guiding the blonde to take them both into her arms. Adora did so without question, but held them cautiously, still unsure where the injury lay and unwilling to hurt them. Luna felt herself sag, exhaustion overtaking her encompassed in the combined warmth of her parent’s bodies. She often forgot how safe Adora’s arms made her feel. She was strong and every part of her felt solid and warm. Even when she wasn’t a glowing 8-foot-tall demigoddess, her very presence gave Luna a sense of security. Even if she was currently protecting her from _herself_.

They didn’t hug enough anymore, Luna decided as she felt Adora’s chin rest against the top of her head.

Carefully, Luna opened her fist once more, holding it up for Adora to see. She felt her mother stiffen, body going rigid before sagging behind her.

“Luna… _why?”_

“I’m sorry,” she murmured quietly, but Glimmer shushed her apology.

“Should we take her to the healers?” Adora whispered over her head. “That’s… A lot of blood.”

“When she’s ready,” Glimmer responded and Adora nodded, but Luna could feel the tension in both of them.

They sat together for a long while in silence until finally, Adora was able to coax them to the Healer’s quarters. There wasn’t much Marlena could do for the wounds but seal them once they arrived. The broken feather was permanently crooked but held together and the stump of the other was no longer bleeding. Even still, the phantom pain continued to course through Luna’s back.

A punishment. A reminder.

Her parents took her back to her room once it had been cleaned up by the castle staff and helped her into an old shirt of Glimmer’s. Luna’s eyes lingered on the holes in the back, made for wings that were growing in, as it was slipped over her head. The cool air hit her enflamed skin as they lay her back down on the bed, on her stomach so as to avoid any pressure on the wounds. Luna didn’t think she’d get much sleep like this, unable to curl around her pillows like she so often did. But the second she heard Glimmer humming another lullaby, hands running gently through her hair, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

Adora sat with Luna long after she’d fallen asleep; and long after Glimmer had gone. The room was dark, lit only by the gentle glow of the moons and stars coming in through the large round window. The holes in Glimmer’s old shirt allowed Luna’s injured wings to poke through—and also allowed Adora an unabashed view of the damage. One feather was gone, nothing more than a broken shaft. The other was cut halfway through, healed so that it was still secured, but hanging broken. Adora’s eyes burned, her throat closing up and fierce trembles wracking her body as she looked at the illustration of hatred her daughter had for her own body.

Adora tried to fight the rising guilt, this wasn’t about her. Except… It kind of was. She’d been the one to mess up the conception spell in the first place. And then to use her own power to grant life to a child that—maybe wasn’t meant to live. Adora didn’t want to think like that, and back then, in the moment as she held her still and blue little body, it hadn’t been an option _not to_. But now, years later, stacking up the consequences—or rather, how her own choices were affecting her daughter’s life—it was hard _not_ to be completely absorbed in her own guilt.

Adora didn’t understand, but she wanted to. She wanted to be able to help. To fix whatever was wrong. But this seemed like one problem she had no control over, and _that_ was more than painful. It was agonizing. Reaching out, Adora ran the gentlest finger she could across Luna’s broken feathers. Her daughter didn’t stir, her skin didn’t even twitch out of reflex like Glimmer’s did when her wings were touched.

The blood spilt all over her skin today told Adora they were a part of her, but the lack of reaction made them seem foreign. Maybe that was how Luna felt. Maybe that was why she’d reasoned that she had no other choice but to remove them all together. In any case, Adora knew the damage was done. Even if they did grow someday, the scars of today’s events would always be there. Adora felt her own scars itch as if in solidarity.

Releasing the feather, Adora moved her hand up into Luna’s hair. They’d removed it from her usual ponytail and it fell loose around her shoulders. Adora ran her fingers through it gently; the softness of it reminded her so much of Glimmer’s. It didn’t hold the same sparkles, but the pink was familiar enough. For a while, at the beginning, Adora had thought it signified a connection to the same magic Glimmer had access to. As she’d grown older, they’d all realized that wasn’t the case.

Adora didn’t want her daughter to hate herself, or her lack of powers so viciously. Especially when there was so much more to her than what she lacked. How was Adora supposed to express the kindness she saw in her daughter, or the bravery, the light and joy, and intelligence? How was she supposed to make _her_ see it too?

Luna murmured something in her sleep, drawing Adora from her thoughts for the moment. She shifted and squirmed, her face contorting in pain and then relaxing once more as she sunk deeper into sleep. Adora leaned down to kiss her soft cheek, her mind drifting back to all the nights she would spend with Luna in her crib when she’d woken from nightmares. Back then she’d been too small to explain her fears. But she’d cling to Adora whenever she came running, a quaking ball of tears, little arms locked tight around her neck. The best thing Adora had been able to do for her back then was to simply _be_ with her… Back then, her presence had been enough for the little girl.

Adora hoped that right now, it was too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Links to art inspired by this chapter, tw: blood and self harm
> 
> <https://freezingmyblitzballs.tumblr.com/post/621945729228963840/who-cares-how-loud-the-silence-rings-youll-find>
> 
> [Broken Feather](https://freezingmyblitzballs.tumblr.com/post/621686137583517696/mommy-has-an-owie-lunas-blue-eyes-were-round%E2%80%9D>Old%20Scars</a>%0A%0A%20%20<a%20href=)
> 
> <https://freezingmyblitzballs.tumblr.com/post/621686137583517696/mommy-has-an-owie-lunas-blue-eyes-were-round>  
> 


	5. In the Shadows of Mystacor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK! I'm so sorry... Technically we're *about* to reach the p l o t!!! This is still a bit of set up but this chapter was already hitting 9k so I had to split it.  
> I hope you enjoy!!!

Luna didn’t face any more consequences after her argument with Adora during their sparring session.

Her training with Catra, however, did come to an abrupt end. Whether or not Adora had directly confronted Catra, Luna didn’t know… But the magicat left for Dryll the day after the debacle, leaving Ash behind to aimlessly wander the castle with Luna.

Technically, nearly two weeks after their disastrous Princess Prom now, Luna wasn’t even certain she was grounded anymore. Granted, she rarely saw her mothers around much anyway. And when she did, there was a strange air about both of them. A distance and a coldness she wasn’t used to. It only compounded the bitterness she felt towards them. The whole of Bright Moon seemed to grow quiet and still as the days dragged on.

Luna spent her time roaming the grounds with Ash looking for something to do. Mostly they ended up exploring the castle’s massive library. Luna didn’t particularly like reading much. She had trouble focusing and the majority of books in the library were dense and dusty old tomes dating the history of Etheria. Some were fairytales. Stories of knights and princesses and queens that her mothers used to read to her as a child. Many were stories of She-Ra—and not just Adora. But the ones before her. The ones that had existed as Etheria’s guardian for eons before the First Ones harnessed her power.

Today, Luna found herself scaling the shelves with Ash—it was mostly a contest to see who could climb the highest without falling. Ash was winning. But Luna caught sight of a bright purple tome with a line of golden moons embroidered down the spine. Pausing in her scramble up the enormous bookshelf, Luna tugged the tome out of its place—a cloud of dust following in its wake. The cloud hit her nose, and the next thing Luna knew, a powerful sneeze had knocked her off the bookshelf.

The drop about ten feet to the floor was softened by a pile of abandoned books and papers, but she still groaned as she rose, the purple book clutched to her chest.

“You lose!” Ash called down from his perch at the top of the bookshelf. He peered at her over the edge, yellow eyes round as he caught site of the book. “What’s that?”

“A book,” Luna held it up for his inspection; another yellow full moon adorned the otherwise blank cover.

Ash rolled his eyes. “Yeah, uh huh. I got that, thanks. Why’d you take a dive for it?”

“I dunno, it looks cool,” she murmured, glancing down and running her fingers over the engraved cover.

There was a rustle and a whoosh of air and suddenly Ash landed beside her, bouncing lightly on his toes as if he hadn’t dropped over twenty feet to the ground.

“Open it.”

Luna did so, turning to the first page and reading the ancient scrawled text: “The Chamber of Queens.”

“What’s that?” Ash wrinkled his nose as the smell of the old pages hit him.

“I literally just opened this, what makes you think I know what it is?” Luna shot back.

“So keep reading.”

“Then stop talking.”

Ash stuck his tongue out, his tail lashing once—but he remained quiet.

“Okay it says…,” Luna squinted to read the loopy handwritten text. “That underneath Castle Bright Moon lies the Chamber of Queens… Uh… Something about a ceremony… And a guardian… The Moonstone…”

Ash, who appeared to already be bored, was busy carving small symbols into the wood of a nearby desk with his claw when Luna whirled around so quickly, he startled into the air.

“Ash!”

“What?!”

“This is it!”

“What’s it?”

“This!” Luna shoved the tome into his face, pointing at a tiny passage at the bottom of a page. “Look! It says, ‘the power of the Moonstone will be given to the next heir of Bright Moon once the quest is completed and the Guardian defeated.’”

Pursing his lips, Ash pushed the book away slowly. “Okay?”

Luna’s face fell. “Okay?! Just _okay_? Ash, this is _it!_ This is how I finally get the Moonstone to accept me! This … uh … ritual thing. In this Chamber of Queens.”

“Which is where?” Ash asked, cocking a brow.

Luna peered down at the text again, frowning. Why wasn’t he more excited? “Underneath the Castle somewhere. This mentions a hidden entrance in the Grand Hall?”

“Uh huh … And what about that Guardian? That doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“This thing’s ancient,” Luna waved away his concern, tucking the book under her arm and heading for the library doors. “The Guardian probably doesn’t even exist anymore.”

“Are you sure about that?” Ash scrambled after her. “What if it does, and _you_ get killed trying to figure out some old ritual that you don’t even know will work!”

“We.”

“We, yeah…. Wait, _we_?” Ash came to a stop a few feet behind her in shock. “What do you mean we?!”

“You’re coming with me, right?” Luna turned, walking backwards until Ash finally began to move again. “We’ll ask Willow too! With her powers any ‘gaurdian’ that might be down there doesn’t stand a chance anyway.”

“Okay, hold on, Luna,” Ash grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to face him. “This isn’t a plan. This is hardly even an idea. If this Chamber—that we’ve never even heard of—does exist, and so does the Gaurdian of it… And we _somehow_ manage to get past all that… Then what? What’s the process?”

“I dunno,” Luna brushed his hand off, irritated, and held up the book again. “But it’s all in here! We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

“Uh huh,” Ash drawled. “And if we get caught again? You really wanna risk getting busted again so soon after Princess Prom?”

“So, we don’t get caught,” Luna tossed a smirk over her shoulder.

Heaving a weary sigh, Ash resigned himself to his duty as best friend. “Where have I heard those words before?”

* * *

Willow, upon invitation, was eager to make a trip to Bright Moon. She hadn’t seen her friends since the Princess Prom and was more than happy to enjoy a few days spending quality time with them. At least, that was how Luna presented it over the commpad. It wasn’t until Willow was safely inside her room, that Luna revealed her true intentions.

“What’s the Chamber of Queens?” Willow asked, her eyes wide and round after Luna’s frenzied explanation of the book and her ‘plan’.

“It’s a chamber! … Where Queens are made!” Luna threw her arms out as if that explanation as a given.

Willow blinked. “But you’re not becoming Queen.”

“I _know_.” Luna threw herself on the bed where Ash sat with an anxiously twitching tail. “But! I don’t have to become the next Queen. The ritual will just give me part of the Moonstone’s powers. Probably.”

“Probably?” Willow squeaked.

“No, definitely. It definitely will. It’s a whole thing.”

“Except we still don’t have the lantern,” Ash pointed out, dully examining his claws.

“I _looked_ for it!” Luna sat up quickly. “Literally everywhere. We don’t _need_ a lantern, okay? We’ll figure something else out.”

“This ‘plan’ gets worse every time you open your mouth,” Ash sighed.

“Well then don’t come,” Luna huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll do it on my own.”

“No, we’ll go!” Willow spoke for both of them, although Ash didn’t object either. “You’ll need our protec—Uh… Our help.”

“Great!” Luna decided not to give them a chance to change their minds. “Then let’s go.”

* * *

Sneaking through the castle was one of Luna’s strengths. She knew the guard’s rotations well and both of her mothers were currently in meetings. That left only her grandfather to worry about, but Micah often slept in until noon most days, so he wouldn’t be an obstacle either.

As the book instructed, the three found the entrance (after far too long of a search) behind the cascading waterfall at the end of the Grand Hall. For a moment, Luna wondered how she’d never discovered this on her own. Perhaps it just hadn’t occurred to her that anything existed behind the pounding wall of water. Luckily, Willow was able to manipulate a few branches from a nearby potted plant to act as a cover of sorts as they ducked under the water.

They were left in near darkness as the wall of water closed behind them. A long, black tunnel lay ahead, lit only by the faint glow of a few multicolored crystals sprouting from the walls. Inhaling a deep and steadying breath, Luna took the first step—leading the way down into the heart of Bright Moon.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Willow asked, wringing her tail between nervous hands as the three crept down the dark, crystal embellished tunnel.

“Yes,” Luna replied, knowing full well it wasn’t. It was hardly an _idea_ at all. She had no clue what they would find down here. Or how it might be able to connect her to the Moonstone. Or if there would be any serious repercussions from trying. But those were all problems Future Luna could deal with, she figured. So she continued down the path, leading the others with more confidence than she felt.

“What’s the plan if we _do_ run into a Guardian?” Ash asked.

“We fight it.”

“With what?”

Luna gestured at Willow. “We have a Willow! You can totally take whatever is down here.”

“Ahh… Uh huh, sure!” Willow chuckled nervously. “Yes. I totally … can.”

Reaching out, Luna patted the taller girl’s arm. “You’ve got this. And we’re right behind you.”

Willow’s cheeks turned red and she coughed once; it echoed loudly around the stone walls. “Er, yes. We’re all in this together. Got it.”

“Let’s just hope it’s not some ancient monster that say, is… I dunno, impervious to magic?” Ash countered drily. “Y’know, something we should have considered beforehand.”

“You can leave,” Luna shot back at him. “Willow and I can handle it.”

Ash’s eyes narrowed. “Sure you can.”

“What is your—?”

“Guys…,” Willow’s awe filled voice drew their attention. “What’s that light?”

Both turned to see a dim blue-ish glow coming from the end of the tunnel; brighter than the ones the crystals gave off around them.

“Come on!” Luna tore off down the path, immediately forgetting the impending argument.

They did, dashing after her with frantic “wait up”s. As soon as Luna reached the end of the tunnel, she was blinded by a brilliant light as all three entered an enormous domed room. The ceiling stood hundreds of feet above them; little blue balls of light floating like stars around a giant crystal. At the other end of the chamber was a long staircase leading to a golden pedestal and a matching archway above.

“That’s gotta be it,” Luna yelled, her voice echoing through the chamber. She threw an arm out to gesture at the pedestal. “That thing.”

Willow and Ash exchanged confused glances.

“What… does the thing do exactly?” Ash asked, his ears twitching.

“I don’t know,” Luna huffed. “But-,”

“Okay wait,” Ash held up his hands in a time out position. “We came all the way down here—,”

“—snuck down here,” Willow corrected helpfully.

“Yeah, snuck down here—and you don’t even know what we’re supposed to do to get the Moonstone connection to work? You didn’t happen to catch that bit when you were busy _supposed to be reading the book for answers?”_

“Guys!” Luna threw out her arms. “Come on! It’s fine, okay? Big pedestal thing, glowy lights. We’ll figure it out. It’s not a big deal. Let’s just get over there and see if there’s any inscriptions or something.”

She walked off once again without waiting for a unanimous decision. As suspected, however, two more pairs of footsteps joined her on the marble floor after a moment.

“I have a bad feeling,” Willow groaned, crouched inward on herself as they marched across the room. “Like… That icky weight in the pit of your stomach. You know? That kind of bad feeling.”

Ash nodded his agreement, yellow eyes flickering around. “Me too. My tail is tingling.”

“That’s weird,” Luna tossed over her shoulder.

“You’re weird!” he hissed back.

“Guys!” Willow interrupted. “Maybe we should just keep it down… Just in case.”

The two others glared at one another but did not argue further. Luna thought she felt a small rumble beneath her boots as they all climbed the steps to the pedestal but brushed it to the back of her mind. Once they reached the golden stand, Luna was able to see an opening about the size of her fist… An empty space directly in the middle, as if some sort of object had to be inserted. (Probably the lantern they didn’t have…) Otherwise, the pedestal held no inscription or directions.

“Hm..,” she mused to herself, bending low to get a look at the pedestal from every angle and then glancing up at the floating light and crystal and then back again.

Ash watched her with deadpan apathy while Willow kept glancing around the room nervously.

As Luna was examining the hole once more, Ash chimed in with, “Why don’t you stick your fist in, see what happens.”

“Stick my fist in? And risk it getting chopped off when it activates?” Luna drawled.

Ash just shrugged, one tooth poking out in that way it did when he was sufficiently teasing her. Another rumble caught them all off guard as it was suddenly much stronger.

“Did you guys—,” Willow’s fearful whimper was cut off as suddenly the room shook and exploded with force when a giant worm like creature dropped down from the ceiling. The three stared up in awe as the enormous creature. It had one gigantic eye in the middle of its face, a body multiple times the length of the room and rows of sharp teeth that they became audience to when it roared so loudly it created a massive wind.

“Do you think that’s the Guard—!?” Luna was cut off as Ash grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the steps.

“Who _cares_? Run!”

Willow was right behind them, shooting a quick blast of electricity to blind the creature as they passed.

“Wait!” Luna tugged on Ash’s grip, looking back at the pedestal. “Wait, guys! The book said, ‘the power will be passed down when the Guardian is defeated’. We gotta fight it!”

“No, you’re implying we’d have to _beat_ that thing!” Ash cried out over another roar. The creature’s tail came smashing down before them, forcing them to double back.

“We totally can! Willow?” Luna looked back to see their friend shooting another weak blast at the creature’s eye to ward it off. It seemed to have learned, however, as it blinked shut at the last moment, its iron skin acting as an impenetrable shield.

“We can’t beat it!” Willow cried, running to duck behind them both. “Definitely can’t beat it!”

“Luna!” Ash tugged harshly on her wrist again as Luna stood firmly, facing the monster. “Come _ON!_ Are you crazy? You’re gonna get us killed! And we don’t even know if beating it will _do anything_! Let’s go!”

He had a point, but the fact that he was probably right only made Luna want to fight back harder, she tugged her wrist away, flinching as the worm roared again.

“Then go! I’ll take care of it.”

“Are you fu—,” A roar cut Ash off, but it was clear what he’d screeched. “How are _you_ going to stop it?”

“Luna, please,” Willow tugged them both against the wall as the tail smashed down again. “I can’t even touch it and I have powers. You don’t even have a weapon. Let’s just go and regroup and make a plan and—,”

“This could be our only chance, guys!” Luna argued and Ash threw up his arms in fury.

“You’re insane!”

“Luna come on,” Willow grabbed her hand, large eyes pleading and for a moment Luna hesitated. Before stubbornly pulling away and preparing to run towards the beast. At that moment she heard a ‘snick’ and a sharp sting in her lower back and then the room was growing hazy and her whole body melted, going limp beneath her.

“Wha—…” She felt herself being lifted, a quiet “I’m so sorry…” and then everything went black.

* * *

Luna could hear voices as she regained consciousness although they were echoey and distant. It didn’t take her long to realize what had happened. Willow had used her stinger. Forcibly taken her from the Chamber and very likely delivered her right into the hands of her angry parents. Which, if that were the case, meant she _definitely_ wouldn’t have a way back into the Chamber of the Queens. Not easily, anyway.

 _Traitor…_ she grumbled internally as her eyes fluttered open and the world slowly came into focus.

She was in her room, lying prone on her own bed beneath it, groaning as feeling came rushing back to her limbs like a blaze of prickly hot needles.

Her first few words were slurred nonsense, “wWhre-s’willw…?”

Suddenly her mother’s face appeared in her vision, lavender eyes wide and full of concern.

“Adora, she’s awake.”

And then Adora was above her too, face much graver, lines of frustration and anger wrinkling the corners of her eyes. Sighing, resigning herself to an unavoidable verbal beating, Luna pushed herself up. Glimmer’s hands guided her into a sitting position gently, avoiding the stinging site on her lower back. Adora, on the other hand, took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest, face a mask of righteous fury.

“Are you alright?”

“Want to tell us what you think you were doing down there?”

The questions were asked simultaneously, and Luna did nothing but blink slowly at them for a long moment.

“Which one of those do you want me to answer first?” she grumbled finally, shaking her head to clear the last of the venom. Glimmer’s mouth opened again but Adora spoke up first.

“What were you thinking going down there, Luna?”

“We were just exploring,” Luna lied quickly. “I didn’t know there was a giant worm monster down there. Maybe if you guys told me _anything_ once in a while—,”

“Exploring?” Adora cut her off, face dark. “Ash told us you were looking for a way to connect to the Moonstone.”

_Traitor number two…_

“Alright, fine! So what? Nothing happened and we got out aright. I don’t see—,”

“Luna…,” Glimmer’s disappointed sigh was more devastating than Luna could have imagined.

“Do you realize what you could have done to yourself if your ‘scheme’ had worked?” Adora cut in. “Or what tampering with the Moonstone might have done to your mother?”

“I—,” Luna paused, guilt washing over her. No, she hadn’t thought of that.

“You put your own life, your mother’s life, and the lives of your friends’ in danger today because you weren’t thinking. You never think. You never _listen—,_ ”

As familiar words cut deep, Luna shrunk in on herself, shoulders hunched, and eyes pinned to the floor.

“Adora, calm down.” Glimmer’s interruption put a stop to her mother’s ranting. There was a long pause, enough for Luna to feel the cold tension growing between her parents. It suddenly compounded the guilt making itself at home in her gut. Something was off between them, and it had been since Luna’s actions at Princess Prom had ruined Angella’s mural.

There was a strain, a brittle tension growing between her parents, about to snap… And Luna knew it was her fault. What made it worse was comparing it to how obnoxiously affectionate the two usually were.

Breaking the heavy silence, Luna admitted. “I didn’t know…,”

“How did you find out about the Chamber in the first place?” Glimmer prompted and Luna felt her ears burning.

There was no point in lying anymore. “I… was in the library with Ash. I found a book. We snuck into the Chamber just to—Just to see if… I don’t know. I put them in danger… I’m sorry. I just wanted—It said that the Moonstone would---,"

Luna bit her lip to keep back the frustrated tears as both of her parent’s shoulders fell in disappointment at the confession.

“I don’t understand why you keep coming back to this,” Glimmer’s voice was surprisingly sympathetic as she brushed Luna’s hair back. “You don’t need powers to be special.”

‘ _Coming from you…’_

Luna did not respond.

“I think…,” Adora heaved a sigh and then sat on the bed beside them, far enough away that she wasn’t touching Luna, for which she was grateful. “Maybe some time away from Bright Moon would do you good.”

“What do you mean?” Luna looked up, a flash of excitement coursing through her.

“Maybe, you could spend some time with Aunt Casta? The sorcerer’s might be able to help you… Run off some of your restless energy.” Adora’s suggestion was met with an enthusiastic hum from Glimmer, but Luna felt her heart sink.

The sorcerers couldn’t teach her anything. Her grandfather had already tried. And the few times she’d met Casta, her boundless energy had been nothing short of annoying.

Knowing that this was not really a suggestion that she had any say in, however, Luna just nodded glumly. “Sure. Mystacor. Great.”

“They have a hot spring,” Glimmer nudged her helpfully.

“You don’t have to go,” Adora continued solemnly, rising from the bed and heading for the door. “But if you don’t you’ll be grounded _again_ , and under curfew, indefinitely for lying to us _and_ endangering your friends. Your choice.”

A powerful silence filled the room. Luna felt Glimmer’s hand fall away and suddenly she was floating in a wide rift. An emptiness growing between all three of them. Mystacor was _not_ where she wanted to be. But then again…

Neither was Bright Moon.

Grinding her teeth, Luna clenched her fists in her lap and then looked up with a wide saccharine grin. “Mystacor sounds great.”

* * *

Luna was packed by the next morning.

 _‘A few weeks’_ was how long she’d been told she’d be staying in Mystacor. She didn’t think she’d miss Bright Moon very much but knowing that she wouldn’t see Ash or Willow for just as long was painful. She hadn’t gotten much of a goodbye after the Chamber of Queens incident either. Catra had come back to Bright Moon to gather Ash, and Willow had quickly been returned to her own mothers in Plumeria. Luna wondered forlornly when she’d see them again. She at least wanted to apologize for nearly getting them killed by a giant worm monster.

Sighing, tying up the ends of her overstuffed travel bag, Luna left her bedroom and headed down towards the Grand Hall. She caught sight of her mothers speaking with her Uncle Bow as she rounded the corner. Luna wasn’t aware Bow had arrived in Bright Moon—but the conversation he appeared to be having with her parents didn’t look pleasant.

Clearing her throat, deciding it would be best _not_ to get caught eavesdropping, Luna stepped into the Grand Hall and all three adults fell quickly silent, turning to look at her.

“I’m ready,” Luna shouldered her bag self-consciously as the silence stretched.

Bow smiled softly at her, his dark eyes full of sympathy Luna didn’t want. Glimmer glanced at Adora, who’s face was hard—mouth a grim line. Luna saw her mother flinch away when Glimmer’s fingers brushed her arm. It seemed to snap Adora into motion, because she turned to Bow and forced a thin smile. “Thank you, Bow. We need to get going now. Casta is expecting us.”

Luna didn’t know what they’d been talking about, but judging from the way Bow’s shoulders fell, Adora’s ‘thank you’ was arbitrary.

“Come on, Lu.” Glimmer held out her hand to Luna, who moved forward cautiously, not managing to avoid a quick hair ruffle from Bow as she passed.

Grabbing her mother’s hand, Luna took a deep breath, prepping herself for the odd sensation of teleporting as Glimmer also touched Adora’s shoulder. There was a chime, a bright flash and the quick sensation of being pulled underwater and then Luna blinked her eyes open and took in the bright blue skies of Mystacor.

They stood just outside the Sorcerer’s Temple—the smell of the freshly trimmed lawns filling Luna’s nose. A gentle breeze brushed over them, the warm sun beating down. In the distance, Luna could hear the crash of the cloud waves over some shouts of the young sorcerer students who were no doubt practicing their spells.

“Where’s Casta?” Adora asked, glancing around the area warily as if she expected the sorceress to jump out and surprise them.

“She’ll be here,” Glimmer assured her, off-handedly, before turning to Luna. “Luna? You need to listen to Casta, alright? She’s family, but this is also her kingdom.”

Before Luna could agree, Adora interjected. “Your mother’s right. No causing trouble. No destroying any Mystacor artifacts. You’ll do as Casta tells you and won’t ask questions, alright?”

“I know,” Luna grumbled. Casta was a powerful sorceress—but also had a tendency to behave like a complete child. Luna wasn’t eager to follow her orders, but she figured the best she could do was avoid trouble for _at least_ a little bit… To wipe her slate clean if nothing else.

“Don’t be picky either,” Adora was still talking, Luna realized. “You don’t have a castle staff preparing meals here. What you get is what you eat. And make sure you’re getting to sleep on time—if you’re not getting a full eight hours, your mood is going to take a dive. I would encourage you to try to make some new friends, there are plenty of students around here your age. But don’t start any trouble with them—their powers are untamed right now and if something were to—,”

Luna shrunk in on herself as Adora continued, falling silent as she waited for the lecture to end. Glimmer, to her infinite credit, cupped Luna’s cheek and kissed her forehead with a sad smile. Luna almost wanted to ask her what was wrong, how she could fix it—But then Glimmer was stepping away, grabbing her (still rambling) wife’s arm and saying, “We love you, Lu. We’ll see you in a few weeks.”

And in another flash of light—Adora’s voice was cut short and Luna stood alone at the steps of the temple. She stood there for a moment, staring at the spot her mothers had vanished until a sudden exuberant gasp startled her back to reality.

“You’re here!”

Luna turned to see Casta hurrying down the steps. She was bombarded with wet cheek kisses before she had a moment to escape, dark lipstick marks left in the wake.

“I haven’t seen you since that disastrous Princess Prom,” Castaspella laughed, pulling away and rubbing the lipsticks smears with her thumbs further into Luna’s skin. “But what’s a party without a little mess? Besides that old mural of Angella needed a touch up anyway.”

Casta laughed loudly and then looked around the empty area. “Where are your mothers? I wanted to speak with Glimmer.”

Luna shrugged. “They didn’t wanna stick around I guess.”

Huffing, Casta planted her hands on her hips and scowled. “Those two always were the definition of impatient. In any case... Come! I’ll show you to your quarters for the time being. I had some of our best students clean it up for you—with their own special touch of course!”

Luna wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but Casta winked and dragged her into the temple before she could ask.

“You’re going to enjoy your stay, Luna,” Casta began talking entirely to herself as they walked down the stone halls. “Listen, I know your mothers intended it as a bit of a punishment, but Mystacor is anything but a ‘prison’ for wayward children.” She laughed again. “We have the cloud beaches and the hot springs, and daily magical instruction, and you’ll witness a few truly fascinating ceremonies while you’re here as well. There’s the dining hall to the left,” Casta waved a hand into a large room with a highly domed ceiling. “Meals are served at 7am, 12pm, and 6pm. If you missed a meal you go hungry for the day. Punctuality is an important trait we train into our students here!”

Luna imagined she’d be missing many meals simply based on her lack of ability to keep track of time.

“Down there,” Casta waved to the right this time. “Is the Training Hall. We allow our more experienced students to take part in Magical Duels. _You_ won’t be able to take part, obviously,” Casta chuckled, “But I do encourage you to watch a match or two. They’re very entertaining.”

Ignoring the subtle jab at her powerlessness, Luna followed Casta around a corner, catching sight of a large, crystal filled room.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“That is the Lunatarium! Ironically, the very place you were conceived!” Casta’s laugh made Luna uncomfortable this time.

“Wait, w _hat?”_

“Oh, yes. Mystacor aids many families in Etheria with magical conception. Your mothers I personally assisted, of course. Along with your grandfather. The spell—and subsequent ceremony—took place in that room.”

Luna felt her skin crawl at the implications Casta was so freely spewing. She shuddered—not needing to know what the Ceremony entail to imagine it was something far too intimate that she would ever want to know.

“Of course, there was the issue with your _mother’s_ involvement in the spell. I _told_ her we should have redone the blood offering portion of the spell. But my brother insisted it was enough. Well… I suppose _one of us_ had to be wrong.”

Luna frowned, unable to press Casta for more information before she moved on—but something had clicked in Luna’s head. The spell that had _created_ her… went awry? And because of her mother? Which one? Had it contributed to her lack of powers to begin with? Or was it purely a coincidence? Luna decided to file away the questions for another time—but already her gut was twisting, roiling from the distressing implications of her birth.

“Actually, Mystacor has been the innovator of many magical nuances in couple hood across Etheria. Why—there was one spell in particular _I_ taught your mother, that I understand has been _quite_ the improvement in their personal lives.”

By the time Luna unraveled what Casta was implying, her Aunt had already moved on to explaining something about another cavernous room they passed—but by that point Luna had decided she was too overwhelmed to bother processing anything else Casta said. So she nodded along in silence until they reached her private quarters.

True to what Casta had said, the sorcery students had decorated Luna’s room with little floating fairy lights. They didn’t seem to have a source other than magic, floating around the air like little lightning bugs. A few had even gathered into a moon-like sphere near the center of the ceiling. Otherwise the room was rather bare. A small bed pushed up against the far-right wall, a desk to the left a dresser beside the door. An ornate rug bearing the sigil of the Sorcerers sat in the middle of the floor—Luna was careful to avoid stepping on it with her dirty boots as she moved into the room.

“I’d love to give you a longer tour, but I do have a class to teach! Feel free to wander the grounds at your discretion. And remember, dinner is served at 6pm sharp!”

Luna opened her mouth to ask what exactly she was supposed to _do_ here in Mystacor for the next few weeks, but Casta hollered a “ta-ta!” and disappeared before she could. Sighing, tossing her bag down on the bed and then perching on the edge of the mattress, Luna gazed sullenly out the round window. The open fields and blue skies taunted her from just beyond the grass. She could see many students and Sorcerers alike wandering together—some practicing tiny spells as they went along.

This was definitely the cruelest punishment her mothers could have inflicted upon her. But she supposed after everything she’d done since Princess Prom—she probably deserved the psychological torture.

After unpacking her things into the tiny dresser—Luna wandered outside, pacing the halls of Mystacor aimlessly. She’d visited more often as a child, even having her 9th birthday out on the grounds. But since she’d gotten older, Casta tended to make trips to Bright Moon more and not the other way around. Luna wasn’t quite sure why. Adora had never seemed particularly _fond_ of her Great Aunt—and honestly, neither did Glimmer. Luna had to wonder if there was more to the tiny feud than she’d realized when coupled with what Casta had let slip about her own conception ceremony.

As she wandered, Luna found a long hallway decorated with many enormous murals, similar to the ones scattered around Bright Moon. Many of the figures here, however, Luna didn’t recognize. She saw one of her grandfather, Micah, although his hair was shorter—with no gray. There was a newer one, judging by the paint, of Glimmer at the farthest end of the hall; her hand raised in a similar pose to the one in Bright Moon. Beside her grandfather, Luna paused to examine the figure of a scared and chipped mural. The figure’s face was cast in shadow—the stone cracked so badly that it was almost unrecognizable.

Luna peered at it curiously, wondering which sorcerer among them had warranted such hatred. Why else would they have let it fall into disarray? Adding it to the list of questions she was building for Casta, Luna shrugged off the mural and hurried outside.

The air was warm and the sun bright. Making her way through the fields, Luna headed down towards the sounds of the clouds that crashed against Mystacor’s floating shore. She couldn’t imagine this area was ever too busy, especially being so far away from the main temple.

Sure enough, as she arrived, Luna caught sight of only one other person enjoying the rolling waves. A large woman, her skin a deep purple, white hair pulled up into a long ponytail. She sat facing the clouds, leaning back on enormous hands, her shaved head tilted up towards the sun.

Luna crept closer, keeping enough of a distance to avoid bothering the stranger. She was not successfully—clumsily scuffing a few stray rocks as she approached. The woman’s pointed ears twitched, and she turned, peering at Luna through one cracked eye.

Luna froze, staring at the woman with eyes round and wide as an owl. The woman snorted—the sound almost animalistic and that was when Luna noticed the fangs protruding from her mouth.

“Uhh…Sorry,” she squeaked meekly, pointing farther down the shore. “I was just gonna—Um… I’ll go that way.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed and then closed completely as she turned her face back towards the sun.

Figuring she was free, Luna nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard the deep and craggly voice ask: “Haven’t seen _you_ around here before. Are you a new student?”

Turning, Luna was remised to admit that … no, she was not … she’d just been kicked out of her own home. “Uh, no. I’m just visiting.”

The woman looked at her again, dark slit like pupils piercing. “Visiting?”

“Yeah.” Luna scuffed her foot on the shoal. “I don’t do magic.”

The monster woman snorted. “What’s the point of coming to Mystacor if you don’t do magic?”

Frowning, Luna glared back. This woman didn’t look anything like the Sorcerers here. No robes, no books, no sigils. Just a baton like weapon on her hip. She certainly didn’t look like a magic user either.

“I could just ask _you_ the same thing,” Luna shot back, biting her tongue as the woman’s brow rose slowly.

The stood slowly, brushing herself off and rising to a height Luna had not expected. Once she’d risen to her full height, her shadow fully looming over Luna as well as her toothy scowl—The woman suddenly laughed. It was deep, almost a growl; but her grimace had melted into a teasing smirk.

“Touché, Blondie.” The woman rolled her shoulders, cracking her neck loud enough for Luna to hear. “I don’t do magic, you got me there. But I visit Mystacor often to see Castaspella.”

Luna blinked as she pondered that statement. It suddenly clicked. “Are you two—?!”

“Don’t go spreading it around,” The woman interrupted with a sly wink that made Luna want to gag. Her _aunt?? And this giant woman?!_ Then again, maybe an affinity for larger than life buff women ran in her family—

“Name’s Huntara,” the woman interrupted Luna’s spiraling train of thought. “And you never answered my question. I know most everyone that comes to Mystacor for training or study. I’ve never met you before. So… Why are you here?”

Huntara straightened slightly, peering down at Luna from the bridge of her sharp nose.

“I’m—,”

“You look familiar.”

“Are you gonna let me finish?”

Once again, Luna regretted the instantaneous sass, but Huntara grinned. “You _sound_ familiar too.”

Suddenly, Huntara leaned in, her nose inches away from Luna’s hair as she inhaled a _deep_ breath.

“What—!?” Luna flinched back, but Huntara’s eyes suddenly brightened with a familiarity Luna didn’t quite understand.

“Ah, the She-Runt.”

Bristling, Luna puffed out her chest, “The She- _What?!”_

But Huntara was already turning away and striding down the shore, apparently done with the interaction. “Casta mentioned you’d be coming. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize you at first with all that attitude.”

Luna watched her go, frozen for a few seconds, before scrambling after the woman’s long stride as quickly as she could. She took three steps for ever one of Huntara’s. “She- _Runt_?! You—Wait, you know my mom?”

Huntara grunted. “ _Knew_ her, more like. It’s been years since we’ve actually spoken. Good kid. Heard she saved the world or something.”

“Who are you?” Neither Adora or Glimmer had ever mentioned a person like Huntara. They didn’t talk much about their days in the war in general. But leaving out someone like _this_?

“Huntara.”

Rolling her eyes, Luna tried to jump a few steps ahead to stop Huntara’s stride. “Yeah, I got your name. Who _are_ you? How did you know my mom?”

Huntara did stop at that question, her face pulling into a sullen frown. “She never mentioned me, huh?”

“She doesn’t like talking about the war.”

“Hm.” Huntara glanced off into the distance. “Can’t say I blame her.” Looking back down at Luna, she offered a shrug of her large shoulders. “I was a Horde soldier for a while. Leader of a gang in the Crimson waste for another while. I met you mother when she was trying to find answers about the First Ones. Mara. Despondos. Helped her out a bit during the War by rallying the gangs together in the Waste. We go back a ways.”

The speed with which Huntara checked off the list of events not only confused Luna, but enthralled her. She’d heard mentions of all these things—but never consistent details. Never a timeline. She decided to start with the first part.

“You were a Horde soldier?”

Huntara nodded. “Best in my unit.”

“Do you still fight?” Luna pointed to the staff at her belt.

“Have to. Waste is still a dangerous place. As are some of the roads less traveled in Etheria. Fright Zone is still a mess too.”

“You could teach me,” Luna blurted, without a second thought.

Huntara peered at her, confused. “Teach you…?”

“To fight!”

Huntara looked her up and down, brows rising skeptically. “… Is She-Ra’s training not good enough for you?”

“She won’t teach me,” Luna murmured. “She won’t let anyone else teach me either. She thinks I’m too weak.”

Huntara grunted. “She’s probably right.”

Luna gaped, as the woman brushed past her, nearly knocking her over in the process. “What?!”

“How much do you weigh, kid? 100 pounds, soaking wet?” Huntara glanced over her shoulder. “You’re all skin and bones. And how about reflexes?” She snapped a hand backwards, a swiping blow that Luna barely dodged—falling onto her rear in the process. “Nah. You’d be too much trouble to even be considered ‘adequate’.”

“You’re not even giving me a chance!” Luna scrambled up and darted after her. “You don’t know what I can do! I’m fast! And I learn quick! I’m smart! I’m—!”

“—Boastful?” Huntara offered, with a smirk. Before Luna could respond, she turned suddenly, kneeling to the Princesses’ level. “Look, Kid. Training to fight? It’s not easy. And you’re not … built for the kind of training someone like _me_ would put you through. If you wanna throw some spells around instead, maybe go ask one of the sorcerers. Okay?”

Huntara patted her head patronizingly, leaving Luna shaking in her wake, fists clenched at her sides. She closed her eyes, squeezing back the frustrated tears until Huntara’s footsteps had almost faded before shouting:

“I can’t do magic!”

She heard the footsteps stop but did not look up to check if Huntara was still listening.

“I can’t do magic… I was born without a connection to the Moon stone and no sorcerer has ever been able to teach me how to use the planet’s magic either. I don’t have any connection to She-Ra. I can’t fight. No one will train me. No one believes I can. They never even give me a chance to try…. I’m the _heir_ to the throne of Bright Moon and I’m—I’m nothing. I can’t do _anything_ … I just need _someone_ to give me a chance. Someone to believe that I _can_ do it. I _can_ … I _know_ I can… Please—,”

Luna’s head snapped up from her confession as she felt Huntara’s shadow loom over her once again. The two stared at each other for what seemed like longer than it must have been. Finally, the large woman cracked a toothy grin. “You know, I’ve always loved a good underdog story.”

Luna blinked up at her in shock as Huntara patted her shoulder so hard she almost fell over.

“Tell you what, She-Runt. I’ll give you a chance. But we’re gonna start small. You put some meat on your skinny ass and then we’ll talk sword forms. Deal?”

She held out a meaty hand that Luna simply stared at in disbelief.

“You’re here for a while… Right?” Huntara prodded.

Leaping, Luna grabbed her hand with both and shook. “Yes! Yeah, yes. A few weeks!”

“Good,” Huntara tugged her in, giving a fangy smirk. “I hope you’re ready for the worst few weeks of your life, Kid.”

Luna couldn’t help but grin in return.

* * *

Glimmer and Adora reappeared back in Bright Moon in a dazzle of sparkles. Adora blinked, her lecture dying in her throat as she realized Glimmer had taken them back mid-speech. The Grand Hall was silent, cavernously empty with Bow now gone.

And Luna too.

Glimmer had imagined space would give them all peace of mind – distance would remind them to be gentle with one another. But instead, the rift between them all suddenly felt larger. The castle was already too quiet. Glimmer glanced over at Adora, watching her expression of shock melt into the stoic one of bitter sadness she wore so often these days. The tiny wrinkles around her eyes that had come from so much laughter and smiles in their younger days, hardened as she scowled down at the floor.

Glimmer wanted to desperately to reach out to her – to bridge the emotional gap between them. But Adora didn’t seem to want the same. And Glimmer couldn’t entirely blame her. She knew she’d hurt Adora by keeping the truth from her. But at the same time, Glimmer couldn’t dismiss her own pain. For years now, she’d watched her family begin to slowly tear itself apart. Holding back her own resentment for the sake of her wife and daughter was too difficult now.

“I have a meeting with the Ambassadors from Devlan in an hour,” Glimmer broke the silence, although her voice sounded too small, too weak.

Adora jumped, as if she wasn’t expecting Glimmer to speak to her at all. She nodded once, blue eyes intent on landing anywhere but on her wife’s. “And I need to see about training some of the new castle guard.”

Glimmer hated this. She hated the palpable and bitter tension crackling between them. More than anything she wanted to reassure Adora of her love. Despite everything – despite the fights, the conflict, the confusion… Of course, she still loved her wife. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be trying so hard to _fix_ what had fractured.

Physical touch had always been a foundation of their relationship. From their earliest days, Glimmer could remember how Adora’s stress had melted under a simple hug, or a tender kiss, or a thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

Pushing down the anxiety that threatened to drown her, Glimmer reached out—allowing her fingers to brush over the back of Adora’s hand, stroking towards the inside of her wrist where her pulse fluttered. To her surprise, Adora did not move away. Her blue eyes flickered down to their hands, fingers twitching once in response.

“I’ll see you tonight for dinner then?” Glimmer offered – deciding to let any more interaction today be Adora’s decision.

She saw the blonde’s eyes sadden and then she looked up to meet Glimmer’s gaze. Glimmer felt her heart sink when Adora simply replied, “Yes” without even the tiniest of smiles. Unsure what else to say, Glimmer released Adora’s hand, giving her a tiny nod. The blonde turned immediately, striding from the Great Hall without looking back and leaving Glimmer alone.

* * *

Huntara held true to her word.

Luna’s training began in earnest the following morning. This time less secretive in nature, as Castaspella gave them free reign of the sparring grounds. Luna decided not to question if the ease in which they were granted training access had anything to do with her very own trainer being Casta’s new girlfriend. And instead, accepted the challenge of training with another former Horde soldier. She was so busy each day—often training from dusk-till-dawn—that she didn’t see Casta much, despite still harboring questions for her aunt. They arose in her mind every time she passed the Lunatarium, or the carved murals of her family in the main hall. But for now, they went unanswered—sitting in the back of Luna’s mind like an itch she couldn’t scratch.

Huntara set a fairly brutal pace, to say the least. In fact, they didn’t even start with weapons, despite Luna’s insistence. Instead, she made Luna run laps around the perimeter of Mystacor. Breaking the routine with sets of pushups, or sit ups, or pull ups… Or any other ‘ups’ she could think of. The work was exhausting—and more than Luna was equipped for if she was being honest with herself. She lost her breakfasts more than once, and beyond that struggled to keep up with Huntara’s demanding pace whenever the conditioning became so intense, she had to fight to breathe. The way her body had never been able to keep up with her when it came to physical activity was something her mothers had coddled her for since the day she was born.

So despite the way her heart felt like it might explode at the end of ten laps around Mystacor, or how her vision started to go black and spotty at one hundred jumping jacks—Luna didn’t stop. More than once, she found herself on the ground, blinking awake as Huntara helped her up, gave her water and started again.

By the end of two weeks, they _still_ hadn’t touched weapons training. But Luna was training for hours each day. And with Huntara’s insistent schedule, Luna began to see and feel differences in herself she never had before. As she rose one morning, hours before dawn, to meet Huntara on the fields for her usual laps—she paused to look at herself in the full-length mirror in her room.

There were dark circles under her eyes, and bruises on her arms and legs from the occasional hand-to-hand sparring—and the many time’s she’d practically been suplexed into the ground. Her hair was a tangled mess, the color dulled. But beyond the obvious fatigue… Luna saw a new definition in her shoulders. She turned slightly, following the length of her arm, peering at the new curve and mass. Her legs—although also covered in scratches and bruises—were much the same. Stronger, able to carry her farther and longer and faster.

A slow grin spread her lips and she dashed out to meet Huntara, filled to the brim with newfound enthusiasm. Huntara was waiting for her near the cloud beach, holding two solid looking staves. As Luna approached, Huntara tossed one to her wordlessly. Luna surprised them both, by catching it without missing a beat.

Raising a single brow, Huntara gave her a toothy grin. “One hundred and fifty sit-ups, two laps, fifty pushups and then,” she lifted her own stave, “We start your sword training.”

Nodding with furious determination, Luna threw herself down and began rapidly completing her exercises, eyes eagerly set on the stave. One thought dominated her mind now. With the help of Huntara’s training, she would finally live up to being the heir of Bright Moon. Of She-Ra.

Even without magic—she could finally be someone worthy of the title.

After every mistake and every misstep, she was finally on her way to making her family proud.


	6. Buried Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.... Okay here we go!! (For as hard as I tried, I hope the plot doesn't come off as super contrived...)  
> Enjoy! The adventure (and angst) truly begins!

Luna was exhausted.

Despite the strength she’d gained over the past few weeks while training with Huntara—the former Horde soldier pushed her harder than anyone had in her entire life. Despite Luna’s best efforts, and the stubbornness with which she met each of Huntara’s challenges, her body seemed unwilling to cooperate.

It didn’t help that her mental determination had taken a fierce dive after her latest conversation with Castaspella over tea. 

_‘So--You mentioned my...uh...conception ceremony?’ Luna didn’t know how to bring up the awkward subject any other way than blatantly. But Casta didn’t seem to mind. “How did that work exactly?”_

_‘Oh, yes. It’s a fascinating process. Mystacor has been performing the ceremony for decades for couples who can’t conceive otherwise. When your mothers asked for my help I was overjoyed at the prospect of a little niece or nephew. Of course I couldn’t say no. And Micah—You should have seen how hard my brother cried upon hearing they wanted his help too.’ Casta laughed light heartedly—but Luna felt her stomach sink._

_‘But it...didn’t work?” she clarified, staring down into the light green liquid of whatever tea Casta had given her. She hadn’t even taken a sip yet._

_‘Of course it worked, dear. If it hadn’t, you wouldn't be here!’_

_Luna frowned, daring to look up at her aunt, who was taking a sip of tea far too casual for the current conversation. ‘No. I mean it didn’t work_ right _. You said that—I mean—I was born without powers. I’ve never been able to connect to the Moonstone. Or do magic. Or anything…’_

_Casta’s expression darkened uncharacteristically and she set her teacup down with a harsh clink. “Ah, yes. Well…. You’re a unique case, dear. We don’t quite know what exactly went awry to deny you a connection to the Moonstone. Or if that was even a fault of the ceremony! Perhaps it had something to do with your mother being She-Ra? A sort of...preference of power?”_

_“I’m not the next She-Ra,” Luna retorted, her gaze stony._

_Casta nodded slowly, dark lips pursed in thought. ‘I see… Well, it’s entirely possible it was something to do with the ceremony… After all, Adora didn’t offer quite enough blood. I didn’t think She-Ra would be so squeamish, but the sight seemed to unnerve her enough to ruin her focus. Beyond that there was the… broken seal. But the blood offering is equally as important if you ask me, dear. Every step of the ceremony is integral to the formation of new life. It’s not a simple task to stitch the building blocks of a human together from magic—,’_

_Casta’s words morphed into white noise in Luna’s ears. Was it truly possible that her lack of powers—her lack of_ anything _—was entirely due to Adora?_

_Luna felt sick. Her stomach twisting with the implications that the struggles, the self-loathing, the obstacles she’d faced her entire life … were all because of the mistakes of someone who was supposed to love her more than anything. The person who had wanted her here in the first place._

_Part of Luna was furious that her parents never told her about this. They’d never explained that her lack of powers had been their fault. Not explicitly anyway. A smaller part understood the guilt they must feel about it. Especially as they grew further apart._

_But she stuffed down that tiny bit of sympathy, setting down her untouched tea and excusing herself before Casta could even ask what was wrong._

“Focus!”

Luna snapped back to reality a moment too late as Huntara’s wooden baton came crashing into her shins, sweeping her off her feet. Luna fell onto her back hard, the air driven from her lungs in a woosh. Huntara stood above her, scowling, baton pointed to her chin.

“Not to be blunt,” Huntara drawled, “But your form is absolutely terrible today.”

Shoving the baton out of her face, Luna scrambled to her feet, ignoring the ache in her shins and back. 

“What’s the matter with you, huh?” Huntara poked her in the chest with the blunt end of her baton. “You’ve been doing so well lately. What’s going on in there?”

She moved the baton to Luna’s forehead, but the princess smacked it away before it could make contact.

“Nothing! Let’s go again,” Luna shouted, brows drawn low in a fiercely determined scowl. 

Huntara’s eyes narrowed. She stood back, briefly, barely giving Luna a moment to think before lunging again. She swiped the baton over Luna’s head—who managed to duck just in time—before bending low and once again, knocking her off her feet with another quick sweep.

Luna cried out as the baton managed to hit the exact same bruises it had left a moment before as she once again crashed to the ground. Huntara stood over her, her grimace now holding a twinge of sympathy.

“We’re done for the day. You’re burned out, kid. We’re not going to get anywhere if you can’t remember basic techniques.”

“What?” Luna scrambled to her feet again, stumbling after Huntara as she shouldered both their training batons and began striding off the sparring field. “No, I’m fine! I’ll do better. Come on! Please, let’s just try again—.”

“Look,” Huntara whirled so quickly, she nearly knocked Luna over again. “You’re exhausted. I can see it in your eyes and the way you’re carrying yourself. Pushing yourself past the brink of exhaustion is not only stupid. It’s harmful. You’re gonna hurt yourself and backtrack on the progress we’ve made over the past few weeks. Take a break. Enjoy the hot springs. Learn when and how to pause for a second, kid. Consider this another lesson.”

Luna gaped, ignoring the exhaustion creeping through her heavy limbs as she chased Huntara again.

“I can keep going! I have to—,”

“I know you want to prove yourself,” Huntara didn’t look back this time. “But you’re not gonna get anywhere by being a reckless fool. Maybe take a lesson out of your own mother’s book, huh?”

The words stopped Luna in her tracks. She stared after Huntara, swaying with the gentle breeze until she was standing alone in an empty field. Bruised, in pain, exhausted. 

Furious.

Since her conversation with Casta, Luna’s resentment for Adora has only festered. And now—to be compared to her? They were nothing alike. After all, Adora was She-Ra. Adora was the most powerful force in the universe. She was calculated and infallible. She was a fortress. She didn’t struggle. She overcame. She didn’t doubt herself. She had no abilities to question. Everyone believed in her. Everyone looked up to her.

It was easy for her.

They were nothing alike.

Frustrated, Luna turned and tore off the field, ignoring the ache and burn in her legs. It was getting dark now, dusk turning the horizon a glowing orange. Luna knew she’d already missed mealtime, not that she was hungry anyway. She continued to run, trusting her legs to take her somewhere. Somewhere she could outpace her thoughts and her anger.

A few of the young sorcerer’s shouted at her as she passed. But it was more out of frustration that she’d disrupted their spellcasting circle, and less of a concern for the fact that she was running full tilt across the fields.

Despite being a live-in visitor for a few weeks, Luna had struggled to befriend any of the other students. None of them seemed particularly interested in interacting with the magic-less newcomer. And Luna was too intimidated to try really talking to them herself. In a magical island filled with people, Luna had managed to streamline her interactions to Huntara and Casta. And Huntara had just cast her aside.

Her legs continued to carry here away from the training fields, burning as she finally slid to a stop inside the temple. She found herself in the Hall of Sorcerers, panting for air—leaning against the aged paint of her grandfather’s mural. Looking up once she’d caught her breath, Luna ran her fingers over the craggily surface of the wall. 

Beside Micah’s mural was the one she’d found so intriguing upon her arrival. The shadowy, masked sorcerer beside him; who’s eyes seemed to peer into her soul. Luna touched the faded paint, running her fingers over the bumps in the wall. The crags led along the wall in a strange sort of pattern, Luna realized, as she took a few steps to follow them.

So focused was she on the wall, that she didn’t notice the panel beneath her feet dip until it threw her off balance. A loud grinding sound filled the air and Luna leapt back with a yelp as the wall suddenly lit up in a brief sigil and then opened to reveal a long dark tunnel. Glancing around her, half expecting to have drawn a crowd, Luna took a step closer, peering into the dark. As if something was calling to her from within, Luna swore she could hear a soft whisper. A tug in her chest drew her forward and before she knew what was happening, Luna’s feet had taken her inside the tunnel. With another loud screech, the wall closed behind her, leaving her in total darkness.

Hoping she could eventually come back this way, or find another way out, Luna took a deep breath and began shuffling forward.

Her hand found the walls, even rougher than the ones outside, and damp, as if she were entering the planet itself. Maybe she was… This certainly wasn’t a place Castaspella had mentioned. And Luna doubted a secret entrance that opened with a sigil led to anything good. The last secret chamber she’d found had a giant worm monster in it. Deciding not to think about exactly how and why the entrance had opened for her touch—as if she’d cast a spell—Luna tried to focus on breathing through claustrophobia instead.

After a short while, as Luna followed the descending tunnel, she saw a blue glow in the distance--familiar to the one she’d seen in the Chamber of Queens. Approaching the light, Luna was able to make out a room at the end. She crept to the entrance, peering out to see a chamber lit with towering blue pedestals. They stretched towards the high ceiling, glowing blue and translucent.

Making her way closer, Luna could feel a thrum of energy wafting off the constructs. And once she was closer still, she could make out—

“First Ones?”

The writing was clearer blue, hard to make out against the translucent crystal surface, but Luna was sure it was the writing she’d been taught as a child. Or at least, Adora had _tried_ to teach her, explaining it was a part of her heritage. But the writing didn’t make much sense, and Luna had trouble focusing anyway. She knew a few words and could pick out basic grammatical structure. Beyond that… she was no master of the language.

Luna made her way slowly around the columns, examining them for words she knew, all the while wondering why a bunch of First Ones records were hidden below Mystacor.

‘Friend’

‘Mara’

‘Heart’

‘Etheria’

Luna paused, peering at the words as they fit together like puzzle pieces in her head. “The Heart of Etheria…”

Her own heart thrumming against her ribs, Luna switched to another column. From what she was able to gather, the statues were instructions. Something for activating a large source of magic at the heart of the planet itself. A power source for She-Ra. Or at least, that was what she thought. Because at the center of it all, Luna could make out the runes for ‘key’ and ‘sword’.

Taking a few steps back, Luna sat down before the pillars, gazing up at them at the words swirled before her. She’d heard the words once before. In a bedtime story Glimmer had always exaggerated. 

Luna often use to ask about the scars both of her mothers bore. The ones in the center of Glimmer’s chest formed the faded rune she recognized on the pillars now. ‘Heart’. Squeezing her eyes shut, Luna tried to recall the bedtime story.

During the war of Horde Prime, when she knew both of her parents had come into their own as heroes—and yet always seemed loathe to discuss the details—Glimmer had traveled alone to the Crystal Castle with a tool that would tame the Heart of Etheria.

‘Key’

‘Sword’

‘Heart’

That had to be it! Luna’s eyes snapped open and she leapt to her feet, examining the runes once again, a plan slowly forming in her head. The Heart of Etheria was a gathering of magic taken from the planet itself. It existed within a container of sorts, hidden deep within the Crystal Castle. Which, in turn, was buried in the Whispering Woods _just outside of Bright Moon_. And the key to accessing the magic, rested in a pedestal in the castle. Meaning that if Luna could get home, sneak the Sword into the woods, and access the Heart—maybe the planet itself could finally gift her the magic she’d been born without.

Staggering backward, Luna stared up at the glowing pillars, silently thanking luck or fate, or whatever it was that had drawn her down here. Then she turned on her heel and raced back up the tunnel and out into the Temple as the entrance once more slid open at her will.

As she ran, she made a plan. Gather her things, use the floating cliffs to (carefully) escape Mystacor after midnight, once the city was asleep. Make her way back to Bright Moon on foot, arrive by evening, use the cover of darkness to steal—er, borrow—the sword. Hike to the Crystal Castle ruins. Activate the Heart…

If everything went according to plan, which it would, Luna would finally have the magic she deserved in less than forty-eight hours.

There was no way the planet itself would deny her. 

As she gathered her things and prepared her room for her escape that night, Luna lay down in bed, waiting for the hours to tick by. She lay still, but her mind raced ahead, playing out her plan over and over again.

This had to work.

This _would_ work.

If it failed…

Shaking her head, Luna ignored that possibility entirely. It _would_ work. And after sixteen years, she’d finally have the magic she was supposed to.

She’d finally be the person she was born to be.

* * *

It was late. Well past midnight, but Adora was still pacing the halls. It had been a few long nights now that she’d either neglected to sleep in her room with Glimmer entirely or found excuses to stay up all night.

It was exhausting, chipping her down day-by-day, until she felt like a shell of her former self. But the tension between her and Glimmer was growing, seemingly too insurmountable now to confront. Adora was afraid. She couldn’t risk saying, or _doing_ , anything else to hurt her. Or be hurt in return. It was easier to avoid and ignore. To pretend that they were okay. And that the oppressive silence between them wasn’t deafening.

Pacing the castle late at night had become a habit. And that was how she found herself just outside her daughter's empty room. She paused in her methodical tracks, however, when she heard muffled voices coming from within. 

Luna had been absent from Bright Moon for almost three weeks now. There was no way anyone should be in her quarters. But undoubtedly—as Adora pressed her ear to the door, she heard two individual voices speaking. Panic flooding through her at the possibility of intruders, Adora materialized her sword and burst into the room.

It was dark inside. Pitch black save for the slight crackle and red glow of the Black Garnet bonds that kept Luna kneeling in the center of the room. Behind her, Adora could make out the vague silhouette of a figure long gone but forever ingrained in her memory. Shadow Weaver took a step forward, the white eyes of her mask glinting in the light of the red electricity.

Adora opened her mouth attempting to call out to her daughter, not pausing to comprehend why either of them were here. But no words came out. A clawing, choking sensation came over Adora, tightening in her chest until she couldn’t breathe and fell to her knees as well. The sword dissolved in her hand and when she looked down at her palms, she saw long clawed fingers had replaced her own.

Adora looked up, now face-to-face with her daughter, kneeling across from her. She tried to speak again, to assure her they would both be okay. She’d defeat Shadow Weaver, free her from her bonds and they would escape. But a voice she recognized not as her own fell from her lips and Luna’s blue eyes widened in horror. 

Seemingly of its own will, one of Adora’s clawed hands lifted, stroking Luna’s cheek as the lightning cracked around them. In the fearful shine of her daughter’s eyes, Adora could see her own reflection.

The familiar mask that haunted the memories of her childhood stared back at her.

Adora woke with a start—her body burning and freezing cold all at once. The sheets of the guest bed she’d slept in tonight were tangled around her, constricting her in a sweaty panic. Kicking them off furiously, Adora sat up and leaned over the edge of the bed trying to catch her breath.

It had been a dream. Just a dream. All of it. Wandering the halls. Entering Luna’s room. Seeing Shadow Weaver. Seeing herself…

Adora buried her face in shaking hands, attempting to stave off the tears that burned her eyes and throat.

It was just a dream.

A dream where she’d taken the place of her own abuser in Luna’s eyes.

Throwing off the covers, Adora grabbed a robe and hurried from the guest room in an attempt to outrun her thoughts. She paced down the hallway, not quite sure where exactly she was going until her feet took her to her own room. She stopped outside the door; one hand poised over the knob. She knew Glimmer was inside, probably sleeping soundly without her near.

In the past, during her first days in Bright Moon, Adora’s anxiety and nightmares had led her to a young Glimmer’s room many times. In fact, after a while, the sleeping arrangement became far more common than not. Even before they were together, before Adora had even known she loved Glimmer—the princesses presence had been comforting beyond anything Adora had ever known.

Letting her forehead fall against the door, Adora squeezed her eyes shut as the tears finally slipped down her cheeks. She felt so far away from everyone. Her dreams told her she was a horrible mother—no less callous and hurtful than her own mother figure. And her waking nightmares made it seem as if her own wife didn’t love her anymore. How could she blame her? How could she blame any of them? In her effort to protect the ones she loved more than the stars themselves, she’d pushed them all away. 

It was as if she hadn’t changed a day since she was little more than a confused child with a sword thrown into a war. 

She knew she should walk away; she shouldn’t bother Glimmer. She should figure out a way to fix her relationships with her family on her own and atone for her mistakes with them. But before she could make the decision to move, the door opened and Adora tipped forward slightly as her weight met open air.

Eyes flying open, she was met with her wife’s own confused gaze. They stared at one another in silence for a few endless moments.

Glimmer was donned in her sleepwear, the dark bags under her dull eyes matching Adora’s. Her long hair was somewhat frazzled, the sparkles dimmer than what Adora was used to. A spark of what Adora thought might be hope, shone a little brighter in her lavender eyes as they stood across from one another.

“I--,” Before Adora could speak, to explain what she was even doing here, Glimmer noticed the tear tracks staining her cheeks.

“Are you alright?”

A fresh wave almost overtook Adora, but she bit her lip to hold them back. It was beyond painful to feel so emotionally distant from her wife. In any other situation, she’d never been afraid to be vulnerable around Glimmer. In this moment, all she felt was guilt weighing heavy in her stomach. Guilt and pain and confusion.

She dodged Glimmer’s question, in lieu of an explanation. “I had a nightmare.”

Glimmer’s lavender eyes searched her face sorrowfully. Adora knew the physical distance she’d put between them lately by staying in separate quarters had taken its toll. Glimmer seemed hesitant to reach out. She did, after a moment, but carefully--her fingers merely brushing cautiously over Adora’s knuckles.

“Would you like to come in?” Glimmer asked, the offer as alien as if this were the first time they’d ever spoken. 

Adora nodded, exhausted, and overwhelmed by the discomfort between them. Taking her hand fully, Glimmer led her inside the dark room, allowing the heavy door to swing shut behind them. They made their way to the bed, taking a seat beside one another on the edge. Glimmer kept Adora’s hand in her lap, beginning to gently run her thumb over calloused knuckles in a tender touch so familiar it made Adora’s heart ache.

Despite everything building between them, in this tiny moment, Adora thought maybe it was safe to believe Glimmer still loved her. Loved her in that powerful unconditional way she always had.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Glimmer’s voice was soft, almost scared.

Part of her did. Part of her wanted Glimmer to assure her that she wasn’ _t_ anything like Shadow Weaver… The other half was afraid Glimmer would confirm it. That alone would destroy her. Adora decided to remain as vague as she possibly could.

“I dreamed I saw Shadow Weaver again.” 

Glimmer’s thumb continued rubbing tiny circles on the back of her hand. 

“She was in Luna’s room. She had her prisoner. I tried to stop her but—,” _She was me._ Adora trailed off instead of describing the rest of the dream. Glimmer, for once, didn’t seem to know what to say—or do—to comfort her wife. Adora thought that maybe part of her already knew what she’d been about to say, but Glimmer didn’t press. 

Instead, she leaned in slightly, resting her cheek against Adora’s shoulder. Adora wanted to sink into the warmth, to fully revel in the physical affection she’d so dearly missed from her wife. Instead, the guilt compounded in her stomach, tightening so quickly she flinched at Glimmer’s touch. The Queen pulled away just as quickly as she felt Adora’s unintentional reaction and the blonde’s heart sunk. She almost reached out to pull Glimmer back in, but something stopped her.

She was ruining everything. This was her fault. Her own family was falling apart because of her. Her own marriage. She was losing everything—

“—do you think that would be alright?”

Adora blinked, looking up to meet Glimmer’s gaze from where she sat a good foot away now. She’d been so lost in her spiral of guilt she hadn’t heard the question Glimmer asked.

“Huh?”

“I said, do you think we can talk to Casta tomorrow? And see about bringing Luna home? I think … We all just need to be together again.”

Adora wasn’t sure what might have changed that them all being under the same roof wouldn't erupt into arguments again. But Glimmer looked so sad and small, sitting beside her, clearly missing their daughter. She couldn’t possibly say no.

“Yeah, yes. Of course. We'll call her…”

“It’s been a long time.”

Adora nodded sullenly, letting her gaze drop to the now empty hands folded in her lap. 

“She’s never been away from home this long.”

Once again, Adora nodded.

“Maybe she’s feeling better and we can all just—,” Glimmer took in a shaky breath. “We can all just be okay.”

Adora nodded for a third time. She hoped Glimmer was right. But she _knew_ her wife was wrong. 

After all, when had anything ever been that simple for them?

* * *

They rose early the next morning, Adora first since she’d hardly slept at all as a result of the nightmare and the combined anxiety from finally sleeping next to her wife after a few tense days. The lack or rest was something she was growing accustomed too, unfortunately. Rising feeling strung out and stretched thin was no different from any other. The only change was that they were both preparing to retrieve Luna from Mystacor. 

Adora couldn’t help but notice the difference in Glimmer’s behavior at the prospect of bringing their daughter home. A few weeks ago, she’d seemed to be at just of as much of a loss as Adora. Unsure what to do to help their wayward child besides send her somewhere she couldn’t possibly be a danger to herself or others. 

Despite the hopelessness, Adora knew Glimmer had missed her. And it was even more apparent now that she flitted about their bedroom, getting presentable before she would teleport them to Mystacor. 

Adora had considered calling Casta first, but the hour was still early, and ultimately, she figured it didn’t quite matter whether they showed up unannounced or not. In fact, maybe it would be better. If Luna knew they were coming and was still struggling with her frustration towards them—she might do something rash.

“Are you ready?” 

Adora looked up from her perch on the bed, to see Glimmer standing before her, looking as radiant as ever as she held out a gloved hand. Rising slowly, Adora reached out, tentatively closing the space between them when suddenly the commpad on their bedtable buzzed so violently it startled them both apart. 

Castaspella’s face appeared on the tiny screen before either of them could move. The woman looked frazzled, slightly red in the cheeks as if she’d been running, and a mild sheen of panic shone in her dark eyes.

“Oh! There you are!”

Glimmer and Adora exchanged confused glances, wondering where Casta assumed they might be.

“Here we are...?” Adora peered curiously at the screen, a strange uncomfortable tinge settling in the pit of her stomach. Something was off.

“Yes, I’m glad I caught you, um—,” Casta trailed off slightly and Glimmer took the opportunity to speak up.

“We were just about to head over to Mystacor to pick Luna up. Is everything okay?”

A nervous smile spread Casta’s lips. “Oh, you were? You mean to say… Luna isn’t with you then?”

Eyebrows knitting together, Adora felt the itch in her gut turn into a full blown roil. “What do you mean she’s not with us? We left her with _you_. Why would she be here?”

“Well I don’t know!” Casta shot back, frazzled voice rising. “That’s why I’m asking!”

“Aunt Casta,” Glimmer picked up the commpad, her own expression now twisted with concern. “What’s going on? Where is Luna?”

“Uh, you see…We aren’t quite—,” There was a brief scuffle and suddenly the commpad screen displayed the toothy, grim face of Huntara. Before Adora could even consider what _she_ was doing in Mystacor, she said:

“Blondie, Sparkles. Good to see you. It would seem the Princess slipped out of her room late last night. And out of Mystacor. She’s nowhere on the grounds. We’ve searched everywhere.”

“Wha—!”

Before Adora could even try to be angry, she felt a hand on her shoulder, a sharp tug, and in a flash of light there were in Mystacor standing across from Huntara and Casta. Huntara looked up, blinking, the commpad connecting fizzling out even as she still clutched it in her large hands.

“I forgot you could do that…,” Huntara mumbled, tossing the commpad aside as Casta rushed forward.

“Glimmer, I’m so sorry! I’m not sure what happened! Yesterday she was completely fine, enjoying her time on the training fields and—,”

“The training fields?” Adora interrupted.

“Adora, not now,” Glimmer cut her off, refocusing Casta. “But she’s--?”

“She’s gone!” Casta practically wailed, crocodile tears spilling down her cheeks. “We searched everywhere! Her things are missing from her room. Wherever she is...She’s not on Mystacor.”

“I don’t understand,” Glmimer’s voice quivered with barely contained panic. “How could this happen. We left her with you to keep her safe!”

“And she was,” Huntara stepped in, rather protectively, Adora noticed. “She was happy up until yesterday. Just like Casta said. Doing well with her exercises and sword forms.”

“Sword forms?!”

Huntara turned her sharp glare on Adora. “Problem?”

“Yes there’s a problem!” Adora shot back. “There’s a lot of problems! But one is that Luna wasn’t sent here to learn how to sword fight.”

“What was she sent here to do then?” Huntara growled. “Watch the pretty clouds and count the flowers.”

 _“Yeah, kinda!_ ” Adora heard her own voice break childishly. “We wanted to keep her out of trouble.”

“You want her chained up like a trained lap dog,” Huntara’s challenge was dangerously low and Adora felt anger flare in her chest.

“Enough!” Glimmer’s shout quieted them all, echoing around the empty training fields. She stood with her fists clenched at her sides and wings flared out, betraying her small trembling frame as she forced herself to take even breaths. “None of that matters now. We need to focus on finding her and bringing her home safe! Understood?”

All three women nodded in silent shame.

“We’ll start here,” Glimmer commanded. “Casta, Huntara. Gather what sorcerers you can and search the woods around Mystacor. Adora, call Swift Wind. Check from the skies, you’ll cover a larger area. I’ll head back to Bright Moon and have the guards search around the Whispering Woods. If by some chance, she was heading home on her own, we’ll find her before she runs into anything dangerous. Alright…?”

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence as everyone tried to figure out what to say. Before anyone could, Glimmer issued a “Then get going” and disappeared in a cloud of sparkles. Frowning to herself, realizing her frustration with Huntara and Casta could wait, Adora calmed herself enough to say, “Glimmer’s right. We need to focus on finding Luna. We’ll figure out everything … else… later. Find some more commpads, we’ll need to keep in touch from a distance.”

Casta nodded, for once looking at Adora with genuine sympathy. “Adora, I truly am so sorry. Had I known she was planning on... _this_ …. I would have spoken with her or something. I didn’t realize—,”

“It’s fine,” Adora stopped her, although it wasn’t. She knew how hard it was firsthand to get Luna to sit still. Or follow orders. Or not hurl herself headfirst into danger. “Let’s just find her, alright?”

Casta nodded, eyes downcast, and Adora turned away to focus on calling Swift Wind—missing the moment Huntara wrapped a comforting arm around the sorceress. 

* * *

Luna heard the search parties. She knew they’d be coming. The second her mothers and Casta realized she was gone. She would be tracked back to the castle. So she stuck to the most tenuous terrain she could find. Wading mostly through shallow rivers that ran through the woods, skirting dangerous rocky ledges, hiding in bushes. 

It slowed her down. But ensuring no one caught her before she had a chance to enact her plan was vital. She was _not_ about to spend the next three weeks locked up AGAIN for escaping. Her caution finally paid off as the voices of the searchers began to fade and she was left to trek through the woods alone.

It was nearly dusk by the time Luna reached Bright Moon.

The castle looked surprisingly peaceful, towering peaks silhouetted against the orange and pink glow of the setting sun. At first glance, Luna couldn’t see any guards patrolling the grounds. Even still, she knew she shouldn’t let her own guard down as she crept towards the palace. The cover of darkness was for once something she was thankful for as she made her way around the perimeter of the grounds towards the back entrance.

Being closest to the cliffside, it was rarely heavily guarded. Sure enough, Luna found the entry way wide open, only the sound of the pounding waterfall nearby filling her ears. With one more quick cautionary glance, Luna darted through the entrance and into the large empty halls of Bright Moon. Making a mad dash for one of the many divots and hideaways in the castle walls, Luna peered around just in time to see two guards meandering down the opposite end. She ducked back, listening until she heard their voices fading before daring to proceed.

Getting to the Sacred Pedestal wouldn’t be too much of a struggle, Luna hoped. The reformed Sword of Protection was hardly kept under lock-and-key nowadays. And the castle seemed to be surprisingly empty. Besides the two guards, Luna hadn’t seen a single soul. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t a good thing. The fact that the entire castle was out looking for her, meant her escape would only be made more difficult. But she could deal with that later.

“I don’t understand why she would run off.”

The sudden tap of footsteps startled Luna back into the shadows of a large, potted plant, as she heard her mother’s voice down the hall. Peering through the large leaves, Luna managed to catch a glimpse of the Queen, Micah and Adora all coming her way. Quickly, she tucked back behind the pot, holding her breath and hoping the rustle of leaves hadn’t just given her away.

“Why would she run away from Mystacor? And without telling anyone? Casta said she was enjoying her time there.” Glimmer's voice held a level of concern that made Luna’s stomach twist, but she held still. “And now we have no idea where she is? Or if she’s safe? We have _everyone_ looking for her. Why can’t they find her?”

“I’m sorry, Glim. We’re all trying.” Adora’s tone was desperate, but her apology went ignored.

“We _will_ find her, Angel,” Micah’s rough timbre soothed through the air. Luna could almost imagine the gentle hand he probably had on her mother’s shoulder right now. “She couldn’t have gotten far. For all we know she’s just taking some time for herself. Hiding nearby. She wouldn’t stray too far from Bright Moon.”

 _Not exactly wrong..._ Luna mused, although it made her somewhat proud knowing that they were looking in the wrong place. Surprise, surprise, they’d underestimated her again. But at least this time, it stood to her advantage.

“What if she’s already hurt?” Glimmer pressed, and Luna could now hear their voices drifting farther away. “She can’t defend herself. You know how hard it is for her to do anything strenuous. The woods are still filled with monsters. And with the Remnants Catra’s told us about coming closer to Bright Moon...”

Luna frowned, confused by what her mother could possibly be referring to.

“We’ll find her before anything happens, Glim,” Adora spoke next, a bit more determined with the addition of this mysterious threat.

Luna’s stomach churned, bitter anger surging through her veins red hot as neither her mother or grandfather spoke to how she _could_ in fact defend herself. She glanced down at her palms, clenching them experimentally. Watching the flex of her fingers and examining the newly formed calluses on her knuckles from Huntara’s training. It was the former Horde soldiers' guidance that had allowed her to return to Bright Moon undetected. And yet her entire family spoke about her as if she was still a helpless child.

She was far more capable now in a few weeks, than she had been in her entire life. And no one would even acknowledge the possibility.

“I should be out there looking for her too,” Glimmer’s voice held a twinge of hysteria. “I could cover more ground quicker than anyone looking right now.”

“Glimmer,” Micah’s voice was calm. “You know that’s not a wise idea. Especially now that your powers have been so... _unreliable_ lately…”

Luna knew what that meant, and it made her heart ache. Her mother’s powers, although constant, reacted strongly to her emotional state. If she was truly unable to teleport anymore with ease, it meant Luna’s actions had genuinely hurt her. 

“We’ll bring her home safe.” Adora’s vow was the last thing Luna heard before the voices faded. Even still, she sat behind the pot for a while, glowering down at her clenched fists.

Hurting her mother hadn’t been her intention. But the frustration she felt trumped any sympathy. They _still_ didn’t trust her. They _still_ didn’t believe in her. She needed to get to the Heart now more than ever. She needed to activate Etheria’s magic—to force it to give her a piece. No matter how dangerous it might be. Imagining spending one more day as a powerless nobody was too painful to bear.

Leaping to her feet, Luna dashed down the hall, in the opposite direction her family had gone. She rounded a corner quickly, nearly slipping on the slick tile as she dashed past dozens of murals of past heroes. The ones she used to pose beside as a child. Now, she ignored them. Their colors blurring into a jumble of meaningless figures.

Suddenly, the pedestal was before her. Luna skidded to a stop, glancing up, wondering if it had ever seemed so tall before. The sword rested upright in its cradle, thin glowing blue lines still showing scars where the pieces had been stitched back together. The blue runestone in the hilt stared back at her, shimmering slightly as she gazed at her own reflection in the clear surface. It suddenly seemed far more daunting than ever before to be approaching the sword, let alone with the intent to steal and wield it herself.

Squaring her shoulders, Luna stepped up onto the lip of the pedestal and stretched, her fingers wrapping around the golden hilt. The metal was cool to the touch, not as alive as Luna had always imagined it to be.

Scowling with determination, Luna gripped the hilt tightly and tugged with all her might. The sword came free easily, leaving its cradle with the sharp scrape of metal on metal. Luna stumbled backward, lifting the blade with ease as she watched it glow in the dim lamplight.

It was strange; she’d always imagined it would be much heavier.

Another quiet patter of footsteps shocked Luna out of her reverie and she quickly clutched the sword to her chest as she ducked behind the pedestal to hide.

A dumb idea, she realized too late, as whoever was coming would notice it was missing.

“Do you think she’s alright?” 

Luna immediately recognized the worried voice as Willow’s. And as she suspected, Ash responded.

“She’d better be. Because I’m gonna kick her butt the second they find her.”

Peering around the pedestal, Luna saw her friends trudging forlorn down the hall. She imagined they’d been relegated to simply waiting for her ‘inevitable’ return to Bright Moon, rather than allowed to join the search parties. Losing three kids in one day would devastate the kingdoms. 

“Why do you think she ran off?” Willow had her hands wrapped around her tail. “She didn’t even tell _us_ how she was doing in Mystacor…. Do you think something happened?”

Ash offered a blasé shrug, although his tail twitched nervously. “She’s probably just sulking somewhere. That’s all she does lately anyway.”

Scowling at the disdain in her best friend’s tone, Luna clutched the sword to her chest and began to creep out from behind the pedestal as the two passed by. With luck she’d be able to sneak out without them noticing she’d been right beside them.

“I feel bad for her,” Willow continued. “Ever since Princess Prom she just can’t seem to catch a break.”

Ash’s ears flattened with guilt. “I guess you’re right. I just wish she would talk to us. Or _someone!_ Instead of moping around all the time.”

“Uh, Ash?” 

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t … Doesn’t She-Ra’s sword usually go there?” 

Luna froze, halfway out from behind the pedestal as she heard her friends stop and turn to fully peer at the now empty stone column.

“Yeah--,” 

Luna looked up just as Ash’s yellow gaze looked down and both froze, staring at each other with wild eyes. 

All three erupted at once. 

Ash practically yowled, Willow burst into grateful tears, and Luna shouted at them both to be quiet as she darted out and dragged them too behind the pedestal. It was an even tighter squeeze with all three packed behind the column; no longer the ample hiding space of their childhood.

Holding a finger to her lips, Luna urged them to quiet their voices. “Guys, please! I can explain everything… Okay? But you have to be quiet. If I get caught... _again—_ ,”

“What are you doing here?!” Ash interrupted in an angry hiss/whisper. “Why are you taking the Sword? Why did you run off without telling anyone? What’s going on?”

“Are you alright?” Willow offered in tandem with Ash’s questions.

“I’m fine,” Luna answered her first, smiling reassuringly. “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you guys while I was away. It’s just…. A lot happened.”

“Like what?” Both Ash and Willow looked at her with cautious curiosity.

“I found something, underneath the temple in Mystacor,” Luna explained in a low voice. “There are these tunnels. I stumbled across this secret entrance thing and found...Well, I don’t really know what it was exactly, but there were these crystal tower things, _covered_ in First Ones writing.”

“And you could read it?” Willow asked, shifting slightly to relieve the pressure on her knees in the cramped space.

“Yes! Well… No, er, kinda! Some of it. The important parts!” Luna ignored the wary narrowing of Ash’s eyes. “It said something about a Heart. Of Etheria! It’s like… A big store of magical energy. And this is the key to controlling it!” Luna lifted the sword slightly.

“They key to a heart?” Ash’s nose wrinkled. “Of...magic?”

“Yes,” Luna sighed, already exasperated by having to explain what the confusing writing had said. “All magic on Etheria comes from the planet itself, right? According to the writing, this sword can unlock it. So I just thought—,”

“Oh no…,” Ash groaned. 

“Come on! At least hear me out,” Luna let her voice rise a little too loud. “Ash, the Heart is inside the Crystal Castle. That’s literally, like, ten minutes from the Bright Moon! I’m taking the Sword, and I’ll just...unlock...some magic and bam! Powers.”

“Powers?” Ash clarified. “You think you can just...suck some magic planet energy up with the sword and give it to yourself?”

“...Yes?” Luna’s unsure grin was crooked.

“It might work,” Willow offered. “That’s basically how the Runestone connections function according to Ma.”

“It sounds super dangerous!” Ash interjected. “What if the ‘key’ doesn’t work. Or the power is way too much to control. Or it doesn’t—uh, _bond_ with you or something and you explode!”

“Explode?”

“I dunno!”

“Okay, look,” Luna frowned as she stood, unwilling to argue further. “I’m doing this. You two don’t have to involve yourselves. But I’m going. I have to. I can’t--- _Do_ this anymore, guys. I can’t _be_ the powerless princess. There’s too much depending on me. On my family! I have to do this. Just… Please don’t tell anyone I was here. Okay? I’ll be back before morning.”

“Wait,” Willow stood too. “We’ll go with you.”

Luna blinked. “You will?”

“Of course we will…” Willow’s dark eyes were full of some emotion Luna couldn’t name, but it made her stomach flutter.

With a heavy sigh, and a lash of his tail, Ash agreed. “The Whispering Woods are dangerous, especially at night. If you’re gonna go to the Crystal Castle, the least we can do is make sure you don’t die before you even get close.”

Softening, Luna smiled at both her friends. “Thank you, guys. You don’t know what it means to me—,”

“Yes we do,” Willow assured her.

“Yeah. You only tell us about it every second you possibly can,” Ash agreed. “Now save the mushy stuff for later. Let’s go before we get caught.”

Nodding firmly, Luna led the way out of the castle and into the darkness of the woods, her friends following close behind.

Surprisingly, the three made it to the Crystal Castle clearing without encountering any monsters or search parties. Either luck was finally smiling down on them, or they were about to hit a complete dead end and it would all be for nothing. Luna chose to opt for the former as they crept into the clearing together. The Castle stood before them, in a strangely beautiful state of decay—the same jade colored vines crawling up it’s surface that Luna remembered from the nights her mothers took her stargazing out here. The clearing allowed for the best view of Etheria’s starry sky; moons and planets shining high above them now. 

The Castle looked empty and lifeless otherwise, it’s entrance permanently open, although Adora had once told a younger Luna it used to require a secret password. One that only She-Ra knew. Leading the way, Luna stepped through the darkened entrance, blinking until her eyes adjusted to the dim light still coming in from outside. As they crept further in, it got darker, only the faint blue glow from the sword lighting the way. 

The air drifting through the old castle was cold and stale, sending shivers down Luna’s spine that had nothing to do with the oppressive darkness. Unfortunately, the pillars in Mystacor hadn’t told her exactly where the chamber of the Heart would be. All she could do was wander the empty halls and hope they stumbled across it, she supposed. Although, with her friends behind her now, wandering aimlessly felt a little irresponsible. 

As soon as she thought this, they stepped out of the dark tunnel into a cavernously large room. A large mural of She-Ra adorned the far side, flanked by three more dark entry ways.

“Which way?” Willow asked as she gazed around the huge room, her voice echoing.

“I’m not sure…,” Luna glanced nervously between the three options. It was possible none of them were the correct one, and they needed to find some secret entrance like the one in Mystacor. However, this Castle had been out of commission for so long, Luna figured that any hidden entrance they needed was one of the three they were looking at. One of them looked slightly more out of place than the others—not quite as evenly spaced, the door still slightly closed as if it had once been jammed.

“This way,” Luna insisted, picking that door with more confidence than she felt.

The others followed without question. As the three made their way down the dark corridor, the silence in the still air grew even heavier. As if they were somehow stepping into the cavernous maw of some enormous beast about to swallow them whole. Only the tap of their footsteps accompanied them as they made their way to the end of the tunnel.

Finally, they stepped out into a large, empty room. The ceiling was high and domed, the stone beneath them cracked and worn. Luna looked around, before stepping carefully inside. For a moment, she was sure they’d chosen the wrong hall, until she felt the vague thrum of energy filling the air. 

“Is this...it?” Willow asked as the three spread out across the room. 

Luna peered around at the walls and bits of old rubble dusting the floor. She wasn’t quite sure what the Heart was supposed to look like—the descriptions on the crystals had made it sound like some kind of container. But the only things surrounding them were broken pieces of metal and the ever-present throb of energy—humming in the air like a giant breathing in the ground beneath them.

“This has to be it...Do you guys feel that?”

“Yes,” Ash murmured, and Luna could see his fur standing on end. “If this is it, where is the heart thing?”

Luna frowned, pondering his question as she peered at the rubble around them. It was then that she noticed the faint runes etched on some of the bent metal bars at their feet. Kneeling for a closer look, Luna used the light from the sword to illuminate the surface. Sure enough, some of the pieces had First Ones writing that matched bits she’d seen underneath Mystacor.

“It was here,” she murmured, defeat coloring her tone. “This is it… But it’s gone.”

“What?” Willow hurried to her side. “How do you know?”

“See the runes?” Luna pointed and then stood, kicking the pieces away in frustration. “It’s gone! These pieces. This was it.”

“Those were the Heart?” Ash sneered at the bits in confusion, picking one up to examine if closer.

“No, well, yes? I think! Ugh!” Luna clamped her hands over her face. “They held the energy. I thought it would still be here and we could just reactivate it! But something took it apart and now I have no chance to get powers, ever—!”

“Maybe not something,” Willow spoke over the impending rant and gestured the other two over. “Someone? Check this out…”

Ash turned to Luna, tapping her comfortingly with his tail as they both joined Willow. She was kneeling beside a large piece of scrap that had been mostly buried in a pile of dust. “Look.”

At closer inspection, the dust held what looked like a relatively fresh footprint. Granted, the age wasn’t entirely clear due to the fact that no one had—supposedly—visited the Castle in years. Still, Luna assumed finding such a clear footprint could only mean one thing. 

“You think someone was here?” 

“Maybe,” Willow stood, brushing the dirt off her pants. “Maybe some smugglers or something? It would explain why everything is a wreck. Or crooks from the Waste? Looking for scrap to sell?”

“Not the Waste,” Ash spoke up, toeing a small red bit of fabric that seemed to have caught on one of the sharper metal bits. Crouching, Luna picked up the bit of red fabric. It was rough to the touch, a dark maroon with just a hint of black stitching near the edge that looked to be a piece of a symbol or text of some sort.

“If not the Waste, then where?” Luna asked and Ash just blinked at her.

“Come on, don’t you know anything?” he gaped at Willow who also simply shrugged in confusion. Sighing, Ash snagged the fabric away. “This shade of red, they only make in one place. Nobody in Etheria uses it. Except the Horde.”

Willow gasped in shock, hands flying to cover her mouth, but Luna’s scowl only deepened. “The Horde is gone, Ash. We won the Horde Prime War, remember?” 

“Look,” Ash gestured them closer as if anyone might overhear them here. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you guys this. But Catra and I have been traveling to the Waste a lot lately. Mostly because these people calling themselves the ‘Remnants’ keep showing up and trying to recruit some of the lowlifes without loyalty hanging around the Waste. The mercenary types. People with a grudge willing to do anything for a few payments.”

“Wait so…,” Luna’s brain was running a mile a minute, trying to keep up with information she’d heard nothing about. 

“I’m saying that whoever was here gathering scraps from this heart machine thing-y, is definitely working with the Remnants, and also definitely took back whatever they found here to the Fright Zone. That’s where they’ve been coming from. That where they’re hanging around. Catra and I spied on the outskirts just before coming to Princesss Prom. It’s a pretty big group.”

“But why would they want this stuff?” Willow asked. “It’s junk now.”

Ash just shrugged, his tail swishing behind him.

“So, what you’re saying,” Luna began slowly. “Is that we need to go to the Fright Zone.”

Ash’s jaw dropped. “When did I say that?!”

“Just now!” Luna gestured wildly to the pieces around them. “If the ‘Rem-Whatevers’ took the pieces of the Heart back to the Fright Zone, then we just need to go to the Fright Zone, get the pieces back, bring them here, rebuild it, use the sword, and bam! Powers.”

Heavy silence filled the room.

“Luna, look. We’ve done some crazy things in the past, but the Fright Zone?!” Ash yowled. “Are you kidding?! That place is a death trap! No one goes near it and there’s a reason why! And even if we _did_ survive that, how we supposed to rebuild a giant magic machine?!”

“I’m with Ash on this one, Luna,” Willow murmured. “It’s too dangerous. We’ll… Uh, we’ll figure something else out! Maybe the Sword can activate magic some other way?”

“No, you guys!” Luna took a step back, clutching the sword to her chest as if they planned on taking it from her. “Please, there isn’t another way. This is _it!_ I have to do this. I don’t care if it’s dangerous I can’t just—,”

“Luna, come on. This is a suicide mission.”

“No, you don’t understand--,”

“We _do_ understand. We’ll figure something else out. We always do, remember?”

“There isn’t anything else to—,”

“Let’s just get out of here and get back home and work out what to do next, okay?”

“I can’t _live like this anymore!”_ Luna shouted over her friends, heart slamming in her chest as her cry echoed around the now silent chamber. The three stared at each other, Luna’s body shaking so fiercely she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

“I can’t…If you can even call it living,” she breathed in a shaky laugh. “I would rather walk all the way to the Fright Zone and fight my way through an army of Horde soldiers for just a _chance_ to finally be more than … than _this._ ” She threw her lanky arms out as if to prove what an unimpressive figure she struck. Ash and Willow said nothing at first, and Luna dropped her chin to her chest for the penultimate confession. “I would rather _die trying_ to be something greater than who I am now, than live one more day being forced to pretend I’m someone I will never be.”

When she looked up again, her friends were gazing at her earnestly, oceans of sympathy in their eyes. 

“I have to try,” Luna sighed, dropping her arms back to her sides. “I won’t drag you two into it. I won’t make you come with me. It’s dangerous, you’re right. But I’m going. And you can't stop me this time.”

“We won’t,” Ash agreed, solemn, before a tiny, sad smirk quirked his lips. “But we’ll definitely go with you.”

Luna gaped as she processed his words. “I - I don’t want you guys getting in trouble too…”

“So we just won’t get caught,” Willow teased, her smile also a little melancholy as she walked to Luna's side and wrapped an arm around her in a gentle squeeze. Luna returned it weakly, still too baffled to process the loyalty of her friends.

“You’re serious? You want to come with me?”

“’Want’ is a strong word,” Ash sighed, striding to Luna’s other side, his tail wrapping around her waist as he nudged her with his shoulder. “But someone’s gotta watch your back. I really can’t have my best friend dying out there because she wants to be cooler than me.”

Luna’s throat burned, tears spilling down her cheeks and she threw her arms tightly around her friends. “You guys are the best friends I’ve ever had.”

“We’re your only—,” Ash began but Willow cut him off with a quiet glare over Luna’s head as they hugged her in return.

Inhaling a calming breath, Luna pulled back to discuss their next course of action when suddenly a voice from behind startled them apart.

“Finally found you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who caught up with them? Take a guess, win a prize! :-----------------------------------)


	7. First Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one guessed correctly but that's okay!! More cliffhangers await LOL
> 
> I hope this chapter lives up to the wait, It's got quite a few fun easter eggs that I hope ya'll catch :--)
> 
> Enjoy!!

Luna whirled around to see Aster standing at the entrance, effectively blocking their only way out. She stood stiff, eyeing all three warily, before allowing her gaze to drift around the enormous room. Luna had no idea how _she_ had managed to track them here. Granted, Aster had always been an impressive fighter and tech master, especially for her age. But she often spent her time in Dryll with her mother. If word of Luna’s escape had managed to reach the neighboring kingdoms so quickly—it meant that many of the search parties were probably also hot on their tail.

They needed to get out of here and quick.

“What are you three doing in here?” Aster pressed, taking an intimidating step forward. Her hazel eyes flickered to the sword and then to Luna’s, narrowing slightly. “Why do you have the sword?”

“Sword?” Luna responded slowly; tucking the sword behind her back at the same time Willow and Ash inched closer to her side, their bodies blocking the bulky weapon. “What sword…?”

“What do we do?” Willow whispered in Luna’s left ear.

“She’s seen too much,” Ash murmured into the other. “We’ll have to kill her before we escape.”

Luna shushed them both.

Rolling her eyes, having overheard the exaggerated whispers, Aster strode forward with confidence. “Alright, forget it. I don’t care what you guys are doing here. I’m taking you back to the Castle. _Everyone_ is looking for you. You’re all beyond busted—,”

“I know,” Luna shot back loudly enough to make Aster stop in her tracks. “But we’re not going back. We have to leave.”

“Leave…? Where?...” Aster’s face morphed from irritated to concerned. “What are you talking about?”

“We can’t tell you,” Ash blurted.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed, her voice quivering nervously. “Cuz then you’d tell everyone else, and they’d come after us, and we wouldn’t be able to do what we need to do. Y’know? It’s… Totally nothing personal. We just need you to, uh….”

“Just go,” Luna finished for her. “Pretend you never saw us. And we won’t have to fight you.”

Aster’s eyes flickered between all three of them before she snorted loudly. “Fight me? Luna come on. Stop messing around. I know you get these crazy schemes like every other day. But everyone is really worried about you. Let’s just go—,”

“I’m not going back. I have to do this,” Luna kept her voice as low and stern as she could, although she itched to scream. Freedom was moments away, and the _one_ person she knew actually had a chance of physically overpowering her was standing in her way.

“Do _what?_ What is your problem?” Aster spat back. “Stop acting like a child! This is low, even for you.”

Luna’s cheeks grew hot with rage. “You don’t know anything about me!”

Aster’s eyes roll was monumental, and Luna knew she _did_ sound childish. But her resentment of Aster spanned years. She’d compared herself to the other girl for as long as she could remember. Aster had been born only a few months before her, to two of the most influential and powerful people in Etheria. The world knew Bow for his inventions and his participation in the war of Horde Prime. He was not only the Queen’s best friend, but a leader in his own right, a warrior, and a tech genius having brought Etheria into a new age.

Aster’s mother, Lonnie, who’s past was marred slightly by a dark childhood Luna didn’t know much about, was much the same. She was an incredibly capable fighter, a smart leader, with a sharp wit and powerful sense of responsibility. Aster never had any powers to live up to, but she still carried a legacy on her shoulders. One she’d always seemed to handle with grace and dignity.

She was a prodigy without powers.

And Luna resented her for it.

Despite Aster’s cordial friendship throughout the years, the two had never been as close as Luna knew her parents wanted them to be. Unfortunately, all Luna saw was red, as Aster lowered herself into a fighting stance. She withdrew her extendable bow staff from her belt, snapping it out and frowning determinedly.

“If you’re gonna be an idiot about this then I won’t hesitate to stop you with force, Luna.”

Luna glanced at her friends. Each one looked nervous, Ash’s tail flicking back and forth. Guilt threatened to swallow her whole. Luna didn’t want to drag them along on this journey in the first place, but bringing them into a fight with one of their own companions? Frustrated, Luna brought the sword around from behind her back, lowering herself into the fighting position that Huntara had practiced with her. Silently, she cast a quick glance towards Willow, who caught her eye and nodded with only a second of hesitation.

With a loud (and hopefully distracting shout) Luna charged Aster, and a _clang_ pierced the air as the sword met the powerful metal of the bow staff. Ash was right beside her, flailing his arms in a series of blows not intended to do damage (as Luna noticed his claws remained sheathed). Aster was a formidable fighter nonetheless, and managed to not only fend them both off, but land a few solid hits of her own. She tossed Ash aside when he pounced, knocking him out of the air with her staff and sending him crashing to the floor.

Luna struggled not to look back and check on her friend, if she lost her focus and Aster got the upper hand, they were doomed. Still, unwittingly, memories of the day they’d competed against each other in Entrapta’s princess arena came rushing back to her. Aster’s moves were familiar, but polished, each one made with confidence and power that Luna couldn’t match. Not yet.

The best she could do, even with her training from Huntara, was hope to distract their friend until Willow was close enough to paralyze her.

“I’ll never understand you,” Aster scoffed, as she backed Luna up with a quick flurry of blows. “You have everything going for you and you act like the entire world is against you.”

Luna dug her heels into the dusty stone floor, catching Aster’s bowstaff between the hilt of her sword and the blade. With a mighty heave, she wrenched the staff away, tossing it out of range and leaving Aster weaponless. Both girls paused, blinking in surprise that the move had worked. But before Luna could pin her down, Aster ducked beneath the sword, and rolled across the room, reaching for her staff.

Ash, who had regained his breath, gasped and scrambled for it at the same time. He was just fast enough to yank it away before Aster could reach. Skittering to his feet, Ash dashed around to hide behind Luna, who held the sword up to keep Aster away.

Sighing, not at all intimidated, but seemingly tired of the game, Aster approached them slowly. Luckily, as Luna had hoped, they’d served as enough of a distraction to allow Willow an opening from behind.

“Enough is enough, Luna. If you’re done playing She-Ra now—,” Aster was cut off, her eyes widening and then slowly slipping shut, a quiet groan leaving her lips just before she fell. Willow jumped forward to catch her, lowering her gently onto the rocky ground.

Carefully, Luna dared to lower her guard before approaching Willow, who’s stinger was still hovering dangerously in the air where Aster had been standing.

“Nice job,” She encouraged, patting the (non-dangerous) part of her tail.

Willow jerked it back, clutching it to her chest, eyes wild. “Nice job? Nice job?! I just _stung_ Aster! Oh, what if I used to much venom? What if she doesn’t wake up? What if I killed her?! We can never come back---,”

“Willow!” Luna stretched onto her toes, squishing Willow’s cheeks between her palms to focus her. “She’ll be fine. You didn’t hurt her! She’ll sleep for a few hours and by the time they find her, or she gets back to Bright Moon on her own, we’ll be long gone. It’s okay… You hear me? We’re getting out of here thanks to you. But we have to go now. If Aster found us, the rest are probably not far behind. Are you guys ready?”

Ash nodded solemnly, making sure to place Aster’s staff beside her before joining the others. Luna looked to Willow, who inhaled a deep breath and then nodded her agreement as well.

“Then let’s get out of here.”

Willow and Ash hurried down the dark tunnel together, leaving Luna to follow. But she hesitated at the entrance, glancing back at the crumpled form of a girl who was supposed to be her friend. For all the years she’d known Aster, and her parents… Luna knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Especially considering the bonds her own mothers shared with Bow. Beyond that, she knew that she’d messed up any chance of reconciliation with her rival.

Leaving her unconscious, alone, beaten in an unfair fight. For a brief moment, Luna allowed the guilt to consume her, gripping her heart and burning her eyes with tears. And then she heard her friends calling to her and the dark void that threatened to consume her vanished. Shaking her head, Luna gripped the sword more tightly and spun on her heel, dashing after Ash and Willow, as Aster’s stunned form grew small and faded into the shadowy distance.

* * *

Despite Adora’s best efforts—despite _everyone’s_ best efforts—the search to track Luna down was unsuccessful. By morning, they were no closer to finding where she’d disappeared, despite having half of the nearby Kingdoms on the lookout for her.

Casta and the sorcerers had returned to Mystacor to search the underground tunnels and Temple itself, hoping perhaps they’d overlooked somewhere simple. The Bright Moon guards returned to the castle, dejected and frustrated.

Adora was buzzing with anxious energy. After nearly 24 hours of forcing herself to stay away through the gut-wrenching anxiety, Adora was ready to snap. And then thing somehow got worse. As she followed her silently furious wife down to the war room to discuss what to do next, a guard approached to inform them that both Perfuma and Scorpia were waiting for them within.

“What? Why?” Glimmer asked before Adora could. “Did they find the Princess?”

“Er, no, Your Majesty,” the guard stuttered. “They mentioned…they’re missing their own… princess?”

A cold weight settled in Adora’s gut and she heard Glimmer mutter a quiet “Oh no.”

At that moment, another voice from the other end of the hall called out, startling them around: “Hey, Sparkles! I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

The Queens saw Catra striding towards them, face pulled into an irritable scowl. Briefly, Adora felt Glimmer brush against her arm—leaning slightly into her for comfort. But before Adora could react, Catra had joined them, her tail lashing angrily behind her.

“We have a meeting to get to Catra, what seems to be the problem?” Glimmer asked coolly.

“The problem is _your_ kid went missing yesterday. And now _mine’s_ nowhere to be found either.”

Groaning, Glimmer dragged her hands down her face, the pieces quickly coming together. “I don’t have an answer for you, Catra. But I’m starting to assume that he’s probably with Luna.”

“And where is _she?_ ” Catra grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“If I knew do you think I’d be arguing with you right now?” Glimmer shot back.

“Hey, your kid’s the one who took off with _mine_.”

“Guys—,” Before Adora could stop the fight, another tear-filled voice approached the from behind.

“Glimmer, we need to talk.” Turning, the trio saw Scorpia and Perfuma approaching from the direction of the War Room. Perfuma was pale, wringing her hands together, cheeks still stained with tears she’d shed. Scorpia stuck close to her side, one claw pressed gently around her back to act as a supportive shield. Despite her best efforts to appear strong, Adora could see the fear in her dark eyes, and the tremble in her lips.

“Perfuma, I’m sorry,” Glimmer tried to assuage her. “We were just coming to meet with you.”

“Willow’s been missing since last night,” Perfuma practically wailed. “She insisted on coming to the castle to help look for Luna…We couldn’t tell her no, she wanted to help so badly… But if we’d known _she_ would disappear too…”

“Do you have any idea where she could be?” Scorpia finished for her choked up wife.

Closing her eyes, Adora grumbled, “She’s probably also with Luna… Wherever that is…”

“You mean you don’t know?” Scorpia’s voice cracked with fear.

“I don’t, but we will. We’ll find them all. They’ll be okay, Scorpia. I promise—,”

“All?” Perfuma interrupted. “Who else is with her?”

“Ash is missing too,” Catra growled from behind them, one tooth poking out of her mouth in a barely contained snarl.

Perfuma’s eyes widened. “You don’t think—?”

“Oh I _do_ think,” Catra shot back.

“She _kidnapped_ them?!” Scorpia finished with a wail.

“No one is kidnapped!” Glimmer shouted, doing nothing to calm any flustered parents.

“They must have run into her somewhere near the castle and agreed to go along with one of her wild schemes,” Adora explained, to no one’s comfort. “They can’t be far. We’ll find them. There’s no way we’ll miss all three of them if they’re together.”

“They shouldn’t be _gone_ in the first place,” Catra grumbled, and Adora made to whirl on her, but Scorpia spoke up in a rare moment of agreement with the magicat.

“Catra’s right. Luna always seems to be the one to drag them into dangerous situations. But this goes way beyond anything they’ve ever done before.”

Adora caught the heart broken look on Glimmer’s face and opened her mouth to defend Luna, when Perfuma added: “If they’re out in the Whispering Woods, or beyond the borders… Their lives are in _danger_. This isn’t just a silly game anymore.”

“We don’t know that they’re in danger—,”

“Well that’s the problem isn’t it?” Perfuma snapped, uncharacteristically. “You two never seem to know what your own daughter is up to until she’s blown something up, or torn something down, or barely escaped a giant worm monster!”

“I’m with Perfuma on this one,” Catra scowled, and Adora whirled on her in anger.

“You’re acting as if you didn’t have anything to do with this! Like _you_ weren’t the one to put the idea of sword fighting and adventuring in her head in the first place.”

“You think me training her to fight is the reason she ditched Mystacor?! If anything, it’s probably thanks to me she’s _alive_ right now. For the time being anyway. You just don’t want to admit that her terrible attitude is on _you!”_

“Everyone, please—,” Glimmer tried to interrupt, but Scorpia added on.

“Maybe Catra has a point…,”

Adora felt her anger turn to dread. Abandoning her glaring match with Catra, she turned to face Scorpia.

“Luna… She’s always been a little bit wild. She’s got a lot of personality. But now that it’s putting her, and our own kids… in true danger. You know… She’s a kid. You have to direct her. Maybe she’s not the problem.”

“Scorpia…,” Adora felt her throat go dry at the pain shining in Scorpia’s eyes.

“Maybe the problem is you.”

The conviction in Scorpia’s accusation was devastating. Adora glanced at Perfuma and then Catra, but both remained silent. The only thing saving her from breaking down to tears, was Glimmer finally taking charge of the conversation.

“We need to focus!” She snapped and her wings flared out quickly enough to startle everyone but Adora, who felt truly numb. “It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is. Or what made them run off together. We need to _find_ them. Before anything happens. And we are _not_ going to do that by standing here screaming at each other. So… So… Let’s just go!”

Glimmer was flustered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, each parent looking more guilty than the last. And that was when Bow approached, running down the hallway, waving frantically. Before Adora could ask what he was doing in Bright Moon unannounced, Bow reached them, panting slightly.

He bent slightly, clutching his knees as he struggled for air. “Guys! …. Guys…”

“Bow? I thought you were in Dryll,” Glimmer asked Adora’s question for her.

“I was! But we lost track of my daughter late last night and haven’t been able to find her this morning either. I knew you two were looking for Luna… Have you seen Aster?”

Silence rang heavy throughout the hall. A moment later the group burst into chaos again. It took direct orders from Glimmer to begin searching the castle grounds and surrounding woods again. Adora went with Bow around the south perimeter, hoping to console her old friend, and figuring he was the only one who wasn’t angry with her right now.

“I’m so sorry about this Bow,” Adora confessed as they crossed into the Whispering Woods. “We’ll find Aster. She’s a good kid. I’m sure she hasn’t gone far.”

‘ _She never took part in Luna’s wild schemes.’_

Adora briefly wondered how Lonnie had turned out to be the most capable mother of all the Horde kids. She’d always been a strong leader, and a disciplinary teammate. But Adora had thought the same of herself and now here they were, searching for her wayward daughter.

Bow heaved a tired sigh. “It’s alright, Adora. Kids will be kids.”

“They’re in danger out there Bow. This is way more than kids being kids.”

A wry smile tugged at Bow’s lips. “We got into our own fair share of trouble when we weren’t much older than them, Adora. Don’t you remember running off to Beast Island in the dead of night against the Queen’s orders?”

“That was different,” Adora sputtered and Bow just smirked to himself. Drooping, unable to handle even Bow’s light teasing, Adora fell silent. Noticing her withdrawing, Bow placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

“It’s alright, Adora. Really. Stop putting so much blame and pressure on yourself to be perfect.”

“It’s not about being perfect. I just feel like I’ve failed with Luna… I’ve tried so hard to keep her out of trouble. From making dumb mistakes…”

“Sometimes kids need to make dumb mistakes to learn the hard lessons,” Bow assured her. “Luna is… Well let’s just say she takes her queues from two very headstrong women I know. Panicking won’t solve anything. We’ll find them and bring them home.”

Adora could only nod, too much in her own head to really heed Bow’s wise words. A sudden rustle of bushes drew their attention, and both dropped into a fighting stance. They didn’t have any weapons, but Adora figured fist fighting a forest monster might help lift her mood right now.

Fortunately, it was not a monster who greeted them, but the haggard form of Aster.

“Aster!” The relief in Bow’s voice was palpable as he ran towards his daughter, scooping her up into his arms just before she collapsed. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“I’m fine, Dad,” Aster assured him with a weak smile and a pat on the arm. “The venom is still wearing off…”

“Venom?” Bow looked to Adora in confusion.

“I found them,” Aster explained. “Willow, Luna and Ash… They were in the Crystal Castle. Luna had the sword. I tried to stop them but Willow stunned me and when I woke up they were gone.”

For once, Adora saw Bow’s face twist with a hint of anger. It smoothed over a second later however, and he began leading the way back towards the castle, with Aster still nestled safely in his arms.

Adora followed behind nervously, glancing back at the woods. “Should I keep looking then? If they were at the castle?”

“They’re long gone,” Aster spoke over Bow’s shoulder. “I doubt you’d be able to catch them. It’s basically impossible to track anyone through the woods.”

“And you have no idea where they went? Or why Luna had the sword?” Bow asked before Adora could.

Aster shook her head. “They wouldn’t tell me. Luna just kept saying they ‘had to go’. I have no idea where they plan on going.”

Adora tried to put the pieces together. Wondering why Luna had taken her old sword in the first place and then decided to go to the Crystal Castle. Dragging Ash and Willow along, presumably, before running even farther from home.

By the time they returned to Bright Moon, Adora still hadn’t found an answer. But they were greeted by the group of anxious parents, all of whom bombarded Aster with questions, until Bow shushed them furiously.

Gathering in the war room, Adora ad Bow took turns relaying the information Aster had given them, as she sat tiredly by her father’s side. As soon as they’d finished, a daunting silence fell over the room. No one was quite sure what the three were planning, but no matter what the situation looked grim. And finding them now was more imperative than ever before the legitimately got themselves killed.

The problem facing them was that they had no idea where the kids had gone, nor how far they were already. It was possible that a search party might require days by now, or many miles. And everyone leaving was not an option. Emptying the castle, or Plumeria, for an unknown period of time was dangerous. Especially with the information regarding the sinister threat beyond the Waste that Catra had brought them weeks ago.

After a few moments of pondering silence, Glimmer spoke.

“I should go,” she asserted. “I can cover the most ground with my powers.”

“Glimmer, you can’t,” Adora quickly objected. It didn’t need to be said out loud, to avoid causing any more unnecessary panic, but Adora knew Glimmer couldn’t teleport nowadays. Not far anyway, and not consistently. All of her powers had been weakened on the night her mother’s mural had been damaged. Only Adora, Micah and Bow knew that Glimmer’s connection to the Moonstone wavered with her emotional state. Not only did it become more necessary for her to recharge, but with a boost from the Moonstone, her powers were weakened.

Adora knew that even if she could teleport to wherever the kids had gone, it wasn’t likely she could get them all back together. Beyond that, if she teleported into danger, and wasn’t able to use her offensive powers, Adora knew the end result would be disastrous.

Luckily, Glimmer didn’t argue. She knew Adora was right—even so, the tearful fury in her eyes was enough to let them all know how frustrated she was by that reality. Micah placed a gentle hand on her shoulder that she let stay only a moment before shrugging it off.

Adora didn’t try, although maybe she should have. But the idea of being scorned by Glimmer was too much to handle right now.

“Someone has to go,” Catra asserted, her mouth a grim line. “If they make it past the woods, they leave Bright Moon’s borders. And the areas outside the Kingdoms are getting more dangerous by the day.”

“Why?” Perfuma asked nervously.

Catra cast a nervous glance at Adora and Glimmer, the only two she’d made aware of her recent travels during Princess Prom. With a sigh, she began to explain, “I’ve been keeping track of a large group gathering in the Fright Zone. A bunch of bandits and old Horde soldiers banded together in the Waste after the war.”

“I thought we dealt with the creeps in the Waste years ago,” Scorpia interjected.

“I thought so too,” Catra muttered. “But I’d been hearing strange things. Even the other lowlifes in the Waste seemed nervous. So Ash and I followed a few leads and found a bunch of people building some kind of camp in the ruins of the Fright Zone. I don’t know much more than that. But I doubt anyone gathering under a Horde banner has good intentions.”

“Now that you mention it, we’ve been hearing some concerning things from Mermista about pirates and bandits circling in on Salineas more and more often.” Perfuma added, glancing nervously at her wife. “She told us she could handle it, but maybe they have something to do with that group in the Fright Zone.”

“Either way,” Scorpia cut in. “It sounds like it’s way too dangerous for a bunch of kids to be running around without any protection.”

“So we need to get moving,” Glimmer’s voice held a twinge of panic.

“Well, _you_ definitely can’t, Sparkles,” Catra’s objection was meek. “If Salineas is getting hit, leaving Bright Moon without a Queen is a terrible idea. So is leaving Plumeria empty for that matter.”

“We’ll go,” Adora inserted herself in the decision making again, gesturing to Catra and then questioningly to Scorpia. “All of us have tracking, travel and combat experience. And if Glimmer, Perfuma, and Bow stay in their respective kingdoms, we still have a defense at home. “

“That’s a good point,” Bow mused quietly, rubbing Aster’s arm as if to comfort her _and_ himself.

“Maybe we should split up?” Scorpia suggested, but she neglected to meet Adora’s eyes. “We could cover more ground and take different directions?”

“I could work with Entrapta to send out a planet wide broadcast?” Bow suggested as well. “It might take us a few days to make a signal that big. But if everyone is looking for them, there’s not many places for them to hide, right?”

“Good idea, Bow,” Adora nodded. “Scorpia, if you and whoever else might help are willing to start searching east of the Plumerian border, Catra and I will go west, towards the Waste.”

Scorpia gave a single nod, one claw drifting around a tearful Perfuma to pull her close. Beside her, Bow placed an arm around his own sullen daughter, kissing the top of her heard comfortingly. Adora glanced at Glimmer, who was still staring determinedly at the table, hands fisted in her lap.

Closing her eyes to steady herself, Adora took a moment before dismissing the group. “Then we’ll set out tomorrow. We’ll find them and bring them home safe. Everyone stay strong.”

There were a few brief and half-hearted mumbles of agreement as everyone rose to leave. Before Adora could reassure her wife, she disappeared in a flash of sparkles, leaving only Adora and Micah behind. Adora blinked at her father-in-law, who simply smiled tightly and leaned back in his chair.

Not knowing where else to turn, Adora sunk into her own chair beside him. The two sat in silence for what felt like a long time.

“I’m sorry, Micah.”

Micah’s tone gave nothing away. “For what?”

“I promised I would take care of them,” Adora stared at the domed ceiling above them, brow pinched. “I promised I’d be the hero she deserved.”

Micah hummed softly, tucking his bearded chin to his chest. “I don’t think you’ve failed in that yet.”

“But she won’t even talk to me,” Adora shot back, her voice suddenly breaking. “I don’t know how to help her… I just need to bring Luna home. She’ll be okay then. _They’ll_ be okay then.”

Micah frowned, peering at her with concern. But before he could speak, Adora rose, chair squeaking against the marble floor.

“I’m going to get ready for the journey,” Adora offered as an excuse. To her disappointment and gratitude, Micah did not stop her, although she could feel his eyes on her as she left.

* * *

For a while Adora considered contacting Swift Wind again. He’d helped in the search the previous day when Luna had first disappeared from Mystacor. Unfortunately, Adora hadn’t failed to notice how tired the old steed grew during the day long flight.

Neither of them were exactly in their prime anymore. And despite being She-Ra, and She-Ra’s noble steed, Adora couldn’t bring herself to ask Swift Wind to cart her all around Etheria. Especially if he had so much trouble carrying only her. How could he also take Catra? And then the kids when they were found?

Frustrated that a foot search seemed to be the only answer, Adora spent the rest of the day packing a travel bag for the morning. She and the others had discussed leaving the second dawn broke. Bow would head to Dryll with Aster, Scorpia and Perfuma had already gone back home to Plumeria but would begin their own search as well. And Adora and Catra would head into the Whispering Woods and beyond if necessary.

Unsure of how long the journey might take, Adora made sure to pack extra items as a precaution. Healing supplies in case she or Catra, or even the kids, were injured and her She-Ra powers failed her. With her luck, and deteriorating emotional state, Adora was almost certain they would.

She packed a sleeping bag primed for cold weather, as well as a change of clothes, and a charged commpad to keep in touch with Bright Moon and the other search parties. By the time she was finished preparing, it was already late in the evening. Adora realized, she hadn’t seen Glimmers since the emergency meeting. Now she sat on their bed, alone in their room, wondering if she should go looking.

While she didn’t know what she might say if she found her wife, Adora began to search almost instinctively. A brief walk around the castle led her to Luna’s room. A sharp tug at her heart made Adora stop and that was when she heard the soft weeping coming from inside. On instinct, Adora’s hand flew to the door handle, but she stopped herself, guilt flowing over her in hot shameful waves. Adora knew she was the last person Glimmer wanted to see right now. This was her fault, after all. No matter how angry she’d been at Catra, and her wife for lying to her, the fact that she’d responded so harshly to all of them was the reason Luna had run off. And Ash. And Willow.

Adora had not only torn her own family apart, but her dearest friend’s families as well.

Letting her head fall against the door, Adora stood silently, heart breaking as she listened to Glimmer’s sobs. Everything in her screamed to go inside and comfort her wife. But after a few minutes, she turned away. Trudging back to their quarters and collapsing onto the bed, allowing the darkness of night to consume the room.

As the moon rose, Adora caught the glint of silvery light shining off her wedding ring. Before she’d proposed to Glimmer, Micah had told her all about the tradition of exchanging a physical symbol of love and dedication Adora had chosen a silver wedding band, imbued with tiny purples amethysts and matched the sparkles in Glimmer’s hair.

With a fond smile, she remembered how Glimmer had so stubbornly returned the favor, choosing a gold band for Adora and offering a proposal as well. Adora remembered the overwhelming joy she’d felt that day. Glimmer hadn’t been required to reciprocate, but the fact that she did made Adora feel _wanted_.

Now Adora toyed uncertainly with the ring, twisting it around her finger as Glimmer’s cries echoed in her ears. After a moment, she slipped it off, setting it on their nightstand, along with the earring she’d inherited as Queen Consort. Not only was it a symbol of their partnership, but of their status as Queens of Bright Moon. She set them both together, neatly, watching them shimmer in the moonlight.

She wondered what might become of them when she brought Luna back. She knew it would be different, no matter what. And these symbols she certainly didn’t deserve anymore. Maybe Glimmer would banish her somewhere far away. Maybe she’d have to drag Luna back kicking and screaming and the resentment between them would only flourish. Maybe, even worse, she would return, and they would pretend everything was alright.

For the rest of Etheria, they would put on a show of perfect partners, perfect family, perfect queens. And beyond that she’d be ignored. Isolated from the family she loved so dearly in her own home.

Adora hadn’t expected to get much sleep that night. She also hadn’t expected the swirling thoughts, anxiety and guilt to overwhelm her to the point of panic.

For the first time in many years, Adora battled a panic attack on her own. Once she’d come to Bright Moon, Bow and Glimmer had been beside her in the moments where the weight of her responsibilities brought her to her knees. And then once they’d married, Glimmer was there no matter what. Her constant support. That night, Adora sat curled into a ball, arms locked around her drawn up legs as she shook, and struggled for air, her hands going numb as her heart simultaneously slammed out of her chest. Her vision dimmed, although it was hard to tell in the piercing darkness. But the sense of being pulled into a void only made the panic stretch for what seemed like hours.

By the time she’d managed to calm herself, her stomach was sick and her body ached. Forcing herself to lay down, knowing she would only get a few hours of sleep before morning, Adora clutched Glimmer’s pillow tight to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.

Sure enough, she drifted a few times, but before she knew it the sun was rising. Forcing herself up, Adora donned her travel clothes—a long sleeved undershirt and an unused red jacket along with dark weather hardy pants. She clipped a tiny knapsack around her waist and pulled her hair up into a loose ponytail to keep it out of her eyes.

Exhausted and alone, Adora gathered her travel pack as well and headed for the main entrance.

* * *

Catra was already waiting, on the grounds, her own bag packed. Melog stood beside her, sitting calmly, green eyes trained on Adora as she approached.

Glimmer stood with her as well and Adora noticed the two seemed to be talking. What they were discussing, Adora didn’t care to know. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

The conversation stopped when Catra noticed her and jerked her chin up, making Glimmer turn to address her as well.

Adora couldn’t help but notice how tired Glimmer looked. Briefly she wondered if her night had been just as sleepless. Her lavender eyes were dull, the sparkles in her hair so dim that they barely shone. Her feathery wings were unpreened and drooping slightly behind her, clothes disheveled. Even the circlet on her brow had lost its shine.

Adora tore her eyes away as she approached them, unable to maintain the eye contact with her wife.

“Are you ready?” Catra asked before any awkward conversation could be made.

Adora gave a single firm nod, adjusting her pack on her shoulder.

“Remember, Aster found them inside the Crystal Castle,” Glimmer spoke up. “You two should start your search there. Keep me updated via commpad. Anything you find, I want to know.”

“As long as she doesn’t slow me down,” Catra jabbed a thumb at Adora, “We’ll find them soon, Sparkles. I _promise_.”

Flaring with jealousy, Adora couldn’t stop the harsh words from pouring out of her. “If you think I’m such a burden, why are we bothering to look together in the first place? Scorpia was right. We’ll cover more ground separately. It’s your fault anyway that—,”

“Both of you stop, please!” Glimmer shouted over the impending fight.

Both women fell silent, studying the Queen with concern.

“Please,” Glimmer’s voice was quieter, and when she looked up her eyes were filled with tears. “You have to work together. Keep each other safe. It’s dangerous on the roads now. If anything else happens to anyone… I don’t know what I’ll…” Glimmer trailed off before gathering herself with fierce determination. “Stick together, alright? For me.”

Catra nodded meekly, and Adora quickly followed suit.

Sighing, Glimmer squeezed Catra’s hand once and then turned to Adora looking like maybe she wanted to say something else. But with Catra nearby, and the tension that had been smothering them for weeks now… She didn't.

Adora didn't think she had even noticed the missing earring and ring yet. Or if she had, maybe she didn’t care.

"Be safe." Lavender eyes flickered to Adora's, begging for a silent promise in return. "Bring her home. Please."

Despite their recent arguments, Adora hoped Glimmer wanted _her_ back home too. Or maybe… Maybe Adora's legacy rested with their daughter now. If Glimmer had lost all faith and love for her… Adora could at least bring their daughter back. It was _her_ fault all of this had happened in the first place.

"I will," Adora murmured, her fingers absently twitching towards Glimmer's. She wanted to make her wife a promise. But after the loaded words Catra had already given, it felt wrong. So she let it hang in the air between them. A silent vow she hoped Glimmer understood.

Adora had never wanted to cry harder than she did right now. Her wife stood less than a few feet in front of her and yet she'd never felt farther away… Adora was afraid. Something was breaking. They were losing something they couldn't get back. She knew the moment she left the castle grounds; they might never be the same.

But what else could she do? Her daughter needed her. She was in danger. Adora had to bring her home. She had to fix this.

Turning to join Catra, Adora was momentarily frozen when she suddenly felt Glimmer's hand on her forearm, squeezing gently. Daring to glance at her wife, Adora saw an infinite sadness in lavender depths before suddenly, a soft kiss was being pressed to her lips. Shocked, Adora wanted to sink into it, to hold Glimmer tight and never let her go. She wanted to stay locked in this moment where the fights and the resentment faded and all that was left was the love and support she'd received from this woman for twenty years. But before she could even truly return the fleeting affection, Glimmer pulled away. She let go of Adora's arm, offered a final tight smile and in a flash, she was gone.

Adora stared at the space she'd been moments before until Catra hollered for her to hurry.

"Come on! We need to get moving."

Adora turned and followed Catra and Melog away from Bright Moon, her heart and feet and body heavy--sinking deeper into an infinite sadness.

* * *

Okay, so the Whispering Woods was definitely as dangerous as everyone said. More than once they’d been chased through the dense trees by unseen creatures since leaving the clearing of the Crystal Caste.

An enormous spider like creature had almost torn them to shreds, were it not for Willow’s plant-based powers that tied the creature to a few trees and allowed them to escape. In fact, Luna was nearly certain that without Willow as a powerful trump card, their journey would have ended a few hours ago. Battling endless dangers was hard enough. But hours into their trek, all three kids were hungry and tired. And unfortunately, they’d escaped Bright Moon without _any_ supplies. Or money to buy supplies in any towns they might run into for that matter. The realization had made them all very grumpy.

“Are we lost?” Ash groaned as the trio trudged through a thick bunch of foliage. “I swear I’ve seen that rock before.”

Luna glanced over to see a large boulder with a strange ‘X’ marked into its side.

“No,” she insisted, “We’re not lost.”

“We’re definitely lost,” Ash shot back. “We have no _food_ , no camping gear, and _no idea where we’re going_.”

“We’re going to the Fright Zone,” Luna growled, refusing to look back at her complaining friends.

Ash snorted. “And where is that Luna?”

“Maybe we should stop and ask someone for directions?” Willow cut in helpfully.

“Who are we gonna ask? The squirrels?” Ash lashed out at her now. But Willow just shrugged and smiled.

“Sure. I could try.”

Throwing her head back in an exaggerated groan, Luna caught sight of a few stars appearing through the canopy.

“Let’s just stop and get some rest,” she suggested, tossing down the sword. It had grown incredibly heavy during the all-day trek. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow when it’s light.”

“We’re gonna sleep here?” Ash gestured around at the bushes and grass. “No blankets, no food?”

“You’re welcome to test some berries for us and find out if they’re edible,” Luna angrily shot back.

“You know what---?!” Ash stomped towards her, before two large vines shot out around their waists and pulled them away from each other.

“Guys, please!” Willow stepped between them, maintaining her hold on the vines as Ash struggled, and Luna crossed her arms and glared. “We can’t fight, okay? We have to work together or we’re actually gonna maybe die out here.”

Huffing, Luna pouted, “I’m _trying_. It’s not my fault Ash is a big baby.”

“ _I’m the baby?!_ I wasn’t the one asking us to take turns carrying your She-Ra sword that you’re too small for all day.”

“It’s a giant hunk of metal!”

“She-Ra doesn’t have any issues carrying it,” Ash huffed, tail lashing.

Luna scoffed and gestured to all of herself. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m _not_ She-Ra.”

“So maybe you shouldn’t be playing hero with her legendary sword!”

“GUYS!” Willow’s vines tightened around both their waists. “Pleaaaaaase, don’t do this. Let’s just take a few deep calming breaths. Breathe with me. Come on. In—,” Willow closed her eyes and took a deep breath while Ash and Luna exchanged angry glares. “—Out. Okay. Feeling better? Now let’s shake hands and put the anger behind us, so we can get out of here.”

Willow drew the vines together and waited for them to move. The glaring contest continued until a tiny vine poked Ash’s elbow and with a groan he extended his hand. Rolling her eyes in defeat, Luna grabbed it and they shook—both squeezing harder than was necessary.

“Good!” Willow beamed and let them both down. “Now, let’s find somewhere safe to sleep.”

After a small debate, they decided sleeping in the trees would be safest, and they could take turns keeping watched. Ash bounded up one of the biggest trees to check it out, before gesturing the other two up. Willow used her powers to bend some of the branches so that she and Luna could ascend easier. Once they were all among the leaves, Willow created a small, and literal, tree house. It would be difficult to spot them from the outside and it was cozy and warm thanks to their body heat. Willow left the roof open, allowing a quiet view of the stars.

The view reminded her of home, when she’d spend nights climbing onto the rooftops with Ash and tracing constellations. It was a little melancholy, but mostly—despite the dangerous day—Luna was excited. It was tough going, but this kind of freedom and adventure was something she’d always wanted. So she watched the stars with a soft smile as her friends snored around her.

Luna was supposed to take the first watch but before she knew it, she too had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning included just as much wandering as before, until finally, _luckily_ , the trio broke through the dense canopy of the Whispering Woods.

They found themselves standing on the outskirts of expansive fields filled with crops. Long stalks of corn and bushes of arrays of fruits and vegetables. Past the fields, Luna could make out the outline of a many small buildings crowded together. A distant hum of music filled the otherwise still air.

“Where are we?” Luna tried harder to peer through the dense stalks, as if she could develop x-ray vision to better make out the town.

“By my best guess? That’s Thaymor,” Ash’s ears swiveled around, trying to better understand the distant sounds.

“We made it to Thaymor?” Luna was almost bewildered by the fact. She’d been forced to learn about Etherian geography in her personal schooling, and while the names sometimes jumbled together in her head, Thaymor stood out. It was the first town beyond Bright Moon borders. Meaning they were officially the farthest away from home Luna had ever been. Even Plumeria was less of a travel, and she’d been there often with her family to visit Willow and her parents of course.

“Let’s go,” Luna shook of the shock and began leading the way through the cornfield. “Maybe we can find some more supplies in town before going further.”

“Wait, wait,” Willow tugged her back by the hem of her shirt. “Won’t we need disguises or something? We don’t really know how many people are looking for us right now. It could literally be everyone in Etheria at this point.”

“I mean, you’re right,” Ash mused. “But what can we use?”

Pursing her lips, ignoring the gnawing of hunger in her stomach that made it hard to think, Luna glanced around the fields. Upon closer inspection, she could make out the silhouettes of a few scattered scarecrows, hanging above the stalks.

“I have an idea.”

Skittering quickly through the fields, leaving her friends to shout and hurry after her, Luna robbed the two scarecrows of their outfits. She placed a large straw hat on Ash’s head, covering his ears, and then moved around him, roughly tucking his tail into the hem of his pants.

Ash yowled and batted her away. “Watch it!”

“Then you do it,” Luna rolled her eyes, and turned to Willow. She reached up onto her toes, wrapping a plaid pattern scarf around her head to hide most of her face in shadow. She tied it around her chin and then pondered her friend’s also large and dangerous tail. A quick glance around them gave her the answer. Jumping up, Luna grabbed the head of a sunflower and tore it off it’s stalk (drawing a sharp gasp from Willow). Using a bit of twine from the scarecrow, she tied it to the stinger of Willow’s tail.

“There,” she stood back, examining her work. “Just do your best to keep your tail close. As long as no one can see the end, they won’t even notice you’re half Scorpioni.”

Willow forced a half grimace/half smile and tucked her tail against her chest.

Lastly, Luna draped one of the scarecrow’s red poncho’s over herself. It was large enough to cover the sword on her back, and act as a hood as well.

“Okay, you guys ready?”

Ash and Willow exchanged slightly bemused glances but followed Luna as she led the way into town. It was relatively early in the morning, but already Thaymor was abuzz with activity. Many of the goat like citizens were gathered in what looked like the main plaza. There were dozens of stalls lining the area, smells of delicious and hearty food filling the air. A little further away, Luna saw a group of musicians playing together, the soft notes of lutes and lyres mingling with the many excited voices.

“What’s going on?” she murmured to the others.

“Some kind of festival, I’m guessing,” Ash replied, then pointing to a few carts of fruits and vegetables they’d seen in the field being wheeled in. “A harvest or something maybe?”

“That means plenty of food…,” Willow murmured, almost to herself, staring longingly at a cart of apples going by. The woman pushing the cart, smiled at Willow and tossed her one of the fruits before jovially moving along, urging the child beside her to come when she stopped to stare at the trio.

At least the woman hadn’t recognized them. Luna hoped that meant their disguises were decent enough to get them through the town. Ash was already drifting towards a vending cart selling what looked like steaming sticks of cooked fish. Grabbing Willow’s arm, she quickly dragged the other princess along, making sure they didn’t lose each other in the crowd.

“Um, how much for one of the fish?” Ash asked the vendor, who simply grinned at him and held out the largest one.

“There’s no fare during the fair!” he let out a loud belly laugh, and the trio exchanged excited and greedy glances.

“Travelers?” he continued, and Luna froze, unsure whether he would press them for details if they told the truth. Unfortunately, Willow answered for her.

“Yeah!” she was happily munching on her apple.

The man’s brow rose, before another grin split his face. “Well welcome to Thaymor. We don’t usually get many visitors, but you’re in luck. The Harvest Festival is the best time of year!”

“We’ll look around then, thanks,” Luna smiled nervously and then pulled her eating friends away from the stall before any more questions could be asked.

The festival was in full swing around them. Despite having no money to spend, they were able to gather a good supply of food and goodies, including a few vitality potions, and a knapsack to store it all in. Willow carried it amiably, munching on the many free fruits she’d received.

She nearly dropped them all, squealing with delight when she caught sight of a small corral in the distance. A tiny herd of pegasi wandered around, feasting on patches of emerald hued grass. Their coats shone in the sunlight, wings fluttering now and then as they pranced around. Luna briefly remembered the flights she’d taken on Swift Wind as a baby. Adora was eager to share the experience with her back then, seemingly unafraid for Luna’s safety when it was her sacred steed toting them around. Luna wondered if any of the young horses there were related to him…

Managing to distract Willow from the pegasi, the three made their way around the square, ooh-ing over various trinkets and crafts the citizens had made. Those unfortunately, did cost a few bits that they didn’t have. Luna had to pull Ash away from a stained glass windchime he was eyeing with greed as it twinkled in the wind.

The live band drew them in, and Luna watched with amazement as dancers with bells and beautiful silk scarves moved gracefully about a makeshift stage. People cheered around them, fueling the excitement filling Luna’s entire body.

She knew her friends felt it too, as they bounced to the music beside her. Despite the chaos of the night before, being here in the open air enjoying foreign food and music and company, Luna found it hard to feel guilt for leaving home. It was too exciting to be in a totally new place, experiencing things she never had before.

After the band and dancers took their bow, storytellers took their place. Using elaborate and beautiful puppets to tell tales of the War of Horde Prime, and the legends of She-Ra and her companions. It only slightly disheartened Luna to be reminded of the mothers she was running away from. But watching the elaborate show was enough to avoid the worst of her resentment.

Especially when the cast began pulling audience members on stage to interact with the well-known stories. Luna wasn’t sure exactly how it happened. One moment she was laughing with Ash as he pointed out how one of the puppets looked like Melog, and the next she was being pulled on stage and handed a fake wooden sword.

“And suddenly,” one of the cast members proclaimed, “the fearsome warrior She-Ra appeared to strike down the _evil_ Hordak! Glowing sword in hand!”

Another two cast members, dual puppeteering a life size man-like creature with bat ears and red eyes approached her snarling. Luna looked around, confused, and caught the eyes of her friends. Ash was pumping his fists, encouraging her on by booing her puppet enemy. Even Willow was too caught up in the moment to care, beaming and cheering too.

Luna took the wooden sword and grinned, beginning a poorly choreographed fight with the actors. ‘Hordak’ taunted her in a gravelly voice, but Luna kept up her concentration, dodging a side strike and raising her sword. One of the actors tripped in trying to escape her blow, their foot twisting in Luna’s cape that had slipped during the mock battle. It fell off her shoulders into a tangle on the ground and the crowd went silent.

Luna felt the _real_ sword of She-Ra, heavy on her back. A few of the crowd members began murmuring and pointing as they too saw it. Ash and Willow were gesturing wildly for her to get off stage, but Luna was paralyzed.

The actor who had been playing narrator broke character to approach her. “Is that…?”

He pointed to the sword and Luna whirled away from him plastering on a large grin. “This? It’s just a replica…. I’m a big She-Ra fan. Huge! Just foam though see?” Luna tapped the very metal hilt poking over her shoulder—the sharp ‘ping’ that followed very much not foam.

Still backing away from the narrator, Luna knocked straight into another actor. The tallest, and buffest of them all. She leaned down, peering at the sword. “How did _you_ get your hands on the Sword of Protection, little one?”

“It’s—,” Luna turned to face her only to hear another gasp.

“That’s the missing princess!”

And suddenly someone else was shouting her name. Luna heard ‘princess’ and ‘runaways’ and ‘Bright Moon’ all in a jumble and then Willow and Ash appeared at the end of the stage, shouting for her to run. Laughing nervously, Luna offered the entire crowd a tiny wave before bolting as quickly as she could stage right.

Fortunately, she was fast enough to avoid being grabbed by anyone on the stage.

Unfortunately, the entire crowd was after them now.

“What do we do now?!” Willow shouted, tossing some of her half-eaten apples at the villagers, as if that would slow them.

“Run faster?!” Ash suggested, his fur standing on end.

Luna glanced wildly around for an exit, when her eyes landed on the corral. Quickly, she grabbed both of her friends by the wrist and dragged them with her.

“What are you doing?” Ash yowled.

“Improvising!”

Luna leapt over the corral fence, pulling her friends over with her. The horses startled, whinnying nervously as the trio bolted towards them. They were still small up close, Luna noticed. Young horses, that probably couldn’t fly them very far. But at least far enough to escape the dangerous crowd.

“Pick one!” Luna ordered and each of them dashed for a pegasus, unwilling to argue as the shouting crowd grew closer.

“This is crazy! I’ve never flown a horse before!” Willow practically sobbed as she scrambled onto a golden horse that seemed mightily afraid of her tail.

“Me neither!” Ash wailed, jumping onto a white one and clinging so tightly his claws dug in. The horse neighed in protest, bucking lightly.

“Just hang on!” Was all Luna could say as she swung onto a black steed and kicked at its sides. “Go, go, go, go! Horse, fly! Go!”

The pegasus shook its head, took one look at the crowd, screeched a neigh and then with a powerful flap of its wings, took off into the sky. The force of its leap nearly knocked Luna off it’s back. She clung to its neck for dear life eyes squeezed shut as it climbed higher and higher. Behind her she could hear the terrified screams of her friends, and the flap of multiple feathered wings and whinnies. The rest of the herd had taken off with them, following their frantic leaders.

They climbed and climbed and climbed, the beat of wings nearly knocking her off each time and the suddenly, everything stopped.

Daring to open her eyes, Luna saw the ground hundreds of feet below her. The trees little more than distant bushes, roads thin lines in fields of grass. Daring to straighten, gripping the horse’s mane for stability, Luna glanced at the white fluffy clouds around them in an endless sea of blue. A rush of white came towards her and she flinched, waiting for the worst until she realized they were gliding through a cloud.

As they came out of the white mist, Luna caught sight of Ash and Willow on either side of her. They were each a few meters away, their horses now gliding as calmly as hers. Ash still clung furiously, his fur sticking up in all directions. Willow, on her left, looked a bit calmer, but she too remained hunched low over her pegasi’s neck.

Below her, Luna could see three more of the herd, gliding and nickering to one another. Luna thought maybe she should be afraid or nervous this high up, on a strange and skittish horse. Instead a spark lit inside her chest. A tiny flame that grew and grew until it felt like she might burst at the seams.

In the back of her mind she remembered the jealousy that plagued her over her mother’s wings, and how she hated her own broken ones. She’d always wanted to know what it felt like to fly.

It felt like freedom.

Throwing out her arms, Luna let out a boisterous whoop and laugh, drawing confused glances from her friends. Her pegasus nickered in reply, looking back at her with an almost mischievous glint in its dark eyes. Leaning forward, Luna gripped its mane again and dug in her heels.

The pegasus neighed in excitement before diving towards the ground. The wind whipped past them, stealing the air from her lungs and then the pegasus kicked its legs, twirling in a corkscrew and taking them back up into the endless sky.

“Guys this is amaziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing---,”

Luna’s voice trailed off as she zipped past her friends, the herd taking them all into the sunrise and lands unknown.


	8. The Price of Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't think I'll ever get an update out quicker than a month LMAO  
> Regardless, I hope ya'll enjoy this clipshow installment of hijinks and drama!  
> Any feedback and comments are more than welcome and greatly appreciated, thank you for reading and supporting the story!!
> 
> In this episode of Heart of Courage: Glimmer and Adora both fear they've lost the others love permanently. Adora and Catra do some battle 'bonding'. Scorpia has joined the party! Meanwhile the kids battle for survival in the Crimson Waste against and against a group of bounty hunters. Will any of them make it out of this sticky situation alive? -melodic flute intro-

Glimmer rematerialized just inside the palace walls. From the high windows, she watched as Adora and Catra disappeared into the Whispering Woods.

Gone.

She stood there a moment longer, rigid, wishing things were different. Wishing Adora had responded to her fleeting goodbye kiss. Despite her silent efforts to reassure the blonde of her love, their kiss has been stifled, awkward, and ended too soon.

Gathering the little magic she could muster, Glimmer teleported again. She reappeared in their bedroom, dizzy from the expenditure of energy. Her magic had been drained along with her emotional exhaustion. It was difficult to teleport nowadays. Difficult to do everything really.

She tried to ignore the sick ache in her stomach, and the dizzy spells that came on often from lack of sleep. She tried not to think of the small chance that she would never see her wife and daughter again. But it was difficult, standing alone in their dark and cold bedroom. Glimmer didn’t know _what_ would happen, or what might become of their family in the end. And that was what made her most afraid.

She felt the tears burning, fierce behind her eyes. Her throat closing. But she held strong and firm. Resolute not to break.

Until she sat on the edge of their bed, her eyes falling to the bedside table. Adora's earring and ring lay there, neatly placed together. Assembled for Glimmer to find.

A final message.

She hadn't even noticed they were gone when parting ways in the courtyard.

Glimmer placed both objects in her palm, squeezed them close to her chest and finally, she burst into tears. She collapsed onto the mattress, sobbing as she mourned the loss of her family. Her daughter was gone--driven out by the very _existence_ of her parents. A worthlessness consuming her soul that they could not rescue her from no matter how hard they tried.

And Adora...

The girl she’d fallen in love with all those years ago, the hero she grew up with, the best friend she’d married…

During the war Glimmer had faced the very real possibility of losing Adora’s love and friendship--back then it had been her own fault. Once they’d managed to bring peace to Etheria, and to their own hearts, they’d been given another chance and the love had bloomed between them once again. Glimmer always thought it would be eternal. Nothing would ever be able to damage it, or break it, or make them doubt it. 

How could she have been so wrong?

For so many weeks she’d been angry and sad and bitter and actively avoiding her wife. They didn’t snuggle up together after long days facing dignitaries. They didn’t share their days or walk together in the gardens.

How long had it been since Glimmer had _said_ the words to remind Adora how much she loved her? Despite the stubbornness, despite the miscommunication, despite the pain. That was _how_ she knew she loved her. It wouldn’t hurt so bad if she wasn’t at odds with the woman she’d chosen to be her lifelong partner. 

And now this.

Glimmer clutched the abandoned jewelry closer. Their last kiss still tingling on her lips. If she’d known it was their last… She would have let it linger a little longer.

* * *

The pegasi flew the kids to the edge of what Luna could only assume was the Crimson Waste. She’d never seen it in person before, but the stories of endless burning sands, dangerous camouflaged creatures, and deadly flora were all present in her mind as the horses landed near a sea of orange and gold.

“Oh come on,” Ash groaned, digging his heels into the horse he’d grown more comfortable on over the hours of flight. “They can’t take us _past_ the deadly desert?”

“They’re young,” Willow defended their horses as she slipped off the back of her own and patted its neck. “They’re probably too tired to keep going. And beside… We did kinda kidnap them from their home… We should let them go back.”

Sighing, Ash slid off his pegasus and patted its nose. “Alright. Good point. You’re free, bud. Go on. Go home.” The Pegasus nickered and shook its head. “Go. Fly!” Ash waved his arms and the horse nudged him in the chest, knocking him over before it trotted a few yards away and dipped low to eat some grass.

Luna slid off her own horse, moving to the edge of the large hill they all stood on and gazing down at the Waste below. In the distance, she could see large craggily peaks piercing the hazy horizon. Beyond that, endless golden waves of sand. She knew from Huntara, there were plenty of little colonies and camps throughout the Waste, including a haven in the center called ‘The Valley of the Lost’. Huntara’s own home outside of Mystacor. If they could make it there, they could find some other form of transportation to get them farther and faster.

The problem was _getting_ there.

“So what’s the plan?”

Luna jumped, not noticing Willow and Ash had moved up beside her. Ash peered out at the horizon, his eyes narrowing against the sun.

“That’s a lot of sand…”

“If we can find our way to the center, we’ll be fine,” Luna told him. “We just need a way to get there quick.”

“Without dying of dehydration,” Ash muttered.

“Or drowning in sandpits,” Luna added.

“Mom told me the Waste has a really big root network,” Willow mused as she peered out at the sand. “Maybe if I can pull some of them up, we’d at least have access to plant life.”

“Cactus juice?” Ash blinked at Willow who responded with a shrug.

“Whatever keeps us going, I guess.”

Struggling to hide her nerves, Luna pondered the pegasi again. “Maybe the horses will give us another ride after they take a break—,”

All three heard a flurry of wings and whinnies and turned to see the small herd taking off into the sky again, leaving them stranded at the edge of the Waste. Silence fell over the three as they pondered the gravity of being unable to go any way but forward.

“Okay…,” Luna mumbled. “Um… Let’s go!”

“Just…Go?” Ash questioned, his ears flattening against his head. “Just _into_ the Waste?”

“Sure,” Luna forced a shrug. “What are we gonna do? Turn back? That’s a long walk home. And right into the arms of very angry parents.”

Ash’s frown deepened, his eyes flickering out over the endless expanse. Luna knew she’d won the argument, turning back now would be pointless. But her friends’ fears were definitely warranted.

“We’ll be okay, guys,” she assured them both. “We’ve got each other! Just stick close together and stay alert.”

Giving her friends the most confident grin she could muster, Luna led the way into the hot sands.

They could do this. They just had to be smart.

* * *

Catra and Adora first made their way to the Crystal Castle. The last spot Aster had said she’d seen the trio of wayward kids. The outside didn’t look any different than it had years ago; vines creeping up its sides, moss growing on the ledges. Adora hadn’t been inside the building in ages.

Although when Luna was younger, she and Glimmer had taken her out here often for overnight camping trips. The canopy of the woods opened up over the courtyard, allowing a glorious view of the stars. Back then it had seemed like such a wonder to gaze up at the new stars together. Luna had never known a world without them, and sometimes the realization that so much had changed in such little time rocked Adora to her core.

She stood still, remembering those peaceful nights, despite the sun that beat down on them now.

“Are you coming?” Catra called, snapping Adora back to reality.

She was already stepping inside the cavernous opening of the Castle. Melog took a seat beside the entrance, blinking at Adora, and then gazing into the woods to guard as she passed.

Adora was not confident they’d find any clues inside. Aster had given them instructions to the specific chamber she’d found them in. Adora recognized it of course. The chamber where the Heart of Etheria had once resided.

Now, as she and Catra made their way into the ancient room, Adora couldn’t help but let her eyes wander to the spot where it had once rippled in the air. Memories of the blinding lights, of her own wife crumpling under the weight of the Failsafe, the relief that had washed over her as Glimmer returned to her and the war was finally, and forever, ended.

“Quite zoning out and help me look for a lead,” Catra grumbled, although she too seemed a bit more reserved within the meaningful space.

Adora tore herself away from the spot, glancing around the dusty room for clues. There were plenty of footprints smeared around the floor, evidence of the fight Aster had detailed. Beyond that were stacks of debris and old metal. Catra crept around them, kneeling to rifle through the piles.

“I’m not sure we’re going to find anything here,” Adora huffed as she kicked sullenly at a pile of dirt. “We should get going and—,”

“And what?” Catra shot back without looking up for her search. “We don’t even know which direction they went Adora. Do you want to do this the stupid way or the smart way?”

Adora opened her mouth to argue before realizing Catra was right. Grimacing, she glanced around the room again, her eyes falling on a few scratch marks in the tile. They looked like the heavy strikes she used to leave with the Sword of Protection. Imagining Luna carting the dangerous weapon around as too much to deal with, so Adora shoved the thought aside.

“Look at this,” Catra stood suddenly and held out a small scrap of material for Adora.

“What is it?” Adora took the cloth, turning it over and catching the edges of some familiar stitching. “Is this…Horde material?”

“If I had to guess,” Catra took the piece back. “This came from the Remnant groups I told you about.”

“But what were they doing here?”

Catra shrugged. “Not sure. But the fact that they were this close to Bright Moon without us knowing is concerning. And judging from some of these boot tracks, it was pretty recent. What they wanted from _this_ room specifically…?”

Catra trailed off, but Adora didn’t need her to continue.

“Do you think this has anything to do with the kids?”

Sighing, Catra stuffed the bit of material into her bag and began heading for the door. “I dunno. Maybe? Not sure what they think they’re doing if they found this? Trying to be heroes? Taking out the Horde Remnants? I’ll bet you anything Ash told them all about it.”

Adora hurried after her. “You think they’re headed for the Fright Zone, then?”

“Maybe.”

“To do what? Take on an army? They’re _kids_!” Adora’s voice rose, echoing around the palace’s main chamber.

“I _know_ that!” Catra’s tail lashed. “ _I_ didn’t send them out do this!”

“Well you sure gave them the _push_ …,” Adora growled, unable to stop herself as the fear and frustration built. “If you hadn’t _secretly_ trained her to sword fight—,”

“Why are you blaming me for what _you_ did!” Catra shouted, making Melog jumped as they left the Castle. “I’m not the one who spent _years_ belittling my kid’s confidence in herself. Just because _you’re_ afraid, doesn’t mean she is!”

Adora scoffed. “I’m not _afraid_!”

“Yes, you are. You’re so afraid you’re locked inside that big dumb head of yours.”

The two stood across from each other in the courtyard, air between them stifling.

“What was I supposed to do? Give her the sword myself and send her on her way? Good luck fighting monsters and bandits, sweetheart. I hope you survive. What kind of mother would that make me?”

“You never change, Adora!” Catra’s ears suddenly flattened in true anger. “You’re the same stubborn idiot you were years ago. No wonder your own kid can’t stand you! I don’t blame Glimmer either.”

Taken aback, Adora lost her words for a brief moment as Catra’s cruel words pierced her. And that was when the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Melog growled, creeping up to stand protectively in front of both of them.

“What now…?” Catra groaned, drawing her own sword as the trees rustled at the west end of the courtyard.

Their answer came busting through the bushes a moment later. An enormous gray spider like creature, with dozens of eyes and a large maw, displaying rows of razor-sharp teeth. It seemed their argument had awoken the creature and it now thundered toward them on many legs.

Catra braced herself, along with Melog, but Adora stepped in front of both of them. She may have been failing in every other regard, but she was still She-Ra and she could handle this and prove her worth. She didn’t need a mantra anymore, not outwardly, but she still chanted ‘For the Honor of Etheria’ in her own mind as her body began to change.

A bright, blinging light filled the clearing, momentarily stunning the creature from its charge. Adora felt the crown materialize, heavy on her brow, the small tear shaped jewel on the front was cold against her skin. Her long red cape billowed out behind her, the sparkles that decorated it gleaming in the sunlight. Her sword appeared in hand, the heart shaped hilt fitting perfectly in her grip.

“I’ve got this,” she assured her two companions before lunging towards the creature.

Somehow, she was not fast enough. The spider snapped a long leg out, knocking her aside. More stunned than anything, Adora paused long enough to be smacked yet again, crashing into a nearby tree.

“Oh, you got this?” Catra’s voice was distant in her ringing ears. She heard a battle cry and then a screech from Melog as the two attacked the spider from either side. Its fur covered hide seemed too tough to pierce, Catra’s sword barely made a dent.

Rising to her feet, Adora morphed her sword into a lasso, hurling it at one of the creature’s pincer arms in an attempt to redirect it’s attention. It worked… But only in the sense that it _dragged_ Adora forward. Gasping, she dug her heels into the dirt, only to slip after a brief struggle and collide directly with another swipe from the spider. It caught her temple, sending her spinning.

It hadn’t occurred to Adora that She-Ra could _lose_. She hadn’t fought seriously in many years… But this was just a pest from the woods. It shouldn’t even present a challenge. Furious, Adora shook off her dizziness and charged again.

“Adora stop!” Catra called out as her sword plunged into one of the spider’s eyes.

Adora did not, and as the spider flailed in pain, one of its sharp claws caught Adora’s arm, tearing open her flesh. Crying out in pain, Adora felt herself lose She-Ra’s strength. In the next instant, she was on the grown, de-transformed and bleeding.

Catra dealt the final blow.

She quickly jabbed another eye, sending the enormous spider creature skittering off into the dark woods. Silence filled the clearing.

Adora blinked after the creature in disbelief. She’d not only been practically useless in the fight but had managed to lose control of She-Ra entirely. The only time she’d ever struggled controlling her powers in the past was when her emotional state was in flux. But she’d overcome that barrier years ago… Right?

The pain of her wound brought her back to reality. The cut on her arm wasn’t very deep, but it was long and bleeding profusely. Adora couldn’t help but be annoyed she had already torn her new travel jacket.

A fresh wound was something she hadn’t experienced in years. The burning waves of agony that lanced up and down her arm made her feel weak, furious and frustrated. Catra approached her slowly, as if she were a wounded animal about to lash out.

The approach was probably a good idea, because that was exactly what Adora did.

“Let me see—,”

“I’ve got it,” Adora spat bitterly, clutching her arm to stop the bleeding as she struggled to her feet. She didn’t want Catra’s help after her cutting words. She didn’t want to _be_ here with Catra, at all. “I’ll heal it myself.”

“Don’t waste your energy. You clearly can’t handle anything right now,” Catra ignored Adora’s efforts to be independent, and clutched her uninjured arm to help her up. Adora shook her off and attempted to heal herself anyway. A tiny yellow glow surrounded her hand, and Adora felt the tell-tale tingle of her skin being stitched back together before her head suddenly spun viciously. Her knees buckled, vision dimming, before Catra caught her, hoisting her to her feet again with some effort.

“Will you _listen_ to me,” Catra grunted, as she slipped under Adora’s uninjured arm to help her hobble away from the battleground. “Relax for two seconds and let’s get somewhere safe so we can wrap up that wound.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Adora insisted through a tired slur. She was _not_ and that was the most upsetting part. This was her mission, _her_ responsibility. She was She-Ra. She didn’t get defeated by random monsters in the Whispering Woods. She’d taken down a Prime’s entire empire with her own power. And yet here she was, draped over the shoulder of her former best friend, stumbling to a nearby cluster of trees to wrap a tiny wound.

“You’re so stupidly stubborn,” Catra grumbled as she practically tossed Adora down onto a patch of grass. “If you die ten minutes into this, Glimmer will kill me too, so shut up and let me see your arm.”

Furious, but unable to argue otherwise, Adora simply held still as Catra removed her gauntlet and rolled up her jacket sleeve. Melog prowled around them, yellow eyes scanning the forest for more enemies. Adora watched the big cat’s tail flick anxiously like a pendulum as Catra’s clawed hands traced over her wound.

“There’s some healing ointments in my bag,” Adora mumbled sullenly.

Catra’s ears flicked in reply as she reached around to rifle through the bags they’d packed. The ointment stung a bit upon first application, and Adora couldn’t hide her flinch.

“Hold still,” Catra hissed, as she applied more.

“Well, be gentler!” Adora shot back.

“You’re supposed to be She-Ra, toughen up.”

“I’m not She-Ra right now, am I?”

“No, just normal annoying Adora.”

The two glared at each other for a moment before Adora turned her head away with a huff and Catra proceeded to sterilize and wrap the wound quickly. Keeping her eyes on Melog, Adora tried not to take Catra’s jab about She-Ra to heart. But it was difficult. She already felt like she was failing so many people. She didn’t need it thrown in her face.

“There,” Catra said, giving the bandage a rough pat to signal she was done before jerking Adora’s bloodied sleeve down and returning her gauntlet. “You’re welcome.”

“Thanks...,” Adora forced herself to grumble as she slipped her arm guard back on. She knew she was being petty, and that she and Catra would need to work together if they were going to find the kids quickly. She glanced over at Melog, who had quieted considerably and was now watching both of them, their tail quietly sweeping the ground.

Catra was peering up at the canopy, her eyes scanning the roof of leaves.

“We should get moving again once you’ve rested. We’re already a ways behind the kids. And who knows if the smell of blood will draw out any more monsters.” Her bi-colored eyes flickered back to Adora. “Think you can move soon?”

“Let’s go. I’m ready now,” Adora replied, rising unsteadily to her feet and ignoring the wave of dizziness that washed over her. Catra looked unconvinced but gathered their bags anyway as Adora steadied herself.

Reaching to help with the bags, Adora was surprised when Catra knocked her hand away with a flick of her tail. “I’ve got it. Melog and I can carry everything. You focus on not falling over.”

Adora was about to argue, when Melog brushed past her, firm flank rubbing almost comfortingly against Adora’s thigh as Catra set a bag on their back. Blinking, Adora paused to remind herself that Melog often betrayed emotions Catra was loathe to express herself. Despite her harsh tone, Adora knew Catra was trying to help her in the best way she could.

Sighing, she resigned herself to the role of wounded tag a long and followed the others as Catra led the way into the dark woods.

* * *

“Luna!! Grab on!!” Willow’s screech could be heard all across the Crimson Waste.

Luna would have told her to hush were she not currently being swallowed by quicksand. Ash stood at the very edge of the non-dangerous sand (slightly darker in hue), his grip on Luna’s hand slipping.

Willow, meanwhile, had managed to direct a small root from within the ground to burst forth. It was slithering towards Luna’s other hand, but it kept whipping around too quickly for her to grab it.

“Hold it still!” Luna urged, as the sand touched her chin.

“I’m trying!” Willow called through barely contained tears.

Unfortunately, the root once more whipped away from Luna’s grip. _Fortunately_ , it wrapped around Ash’s tail and yanked. Ash yowled, his hand a death grip on Luna’s as the root dragged them both to safety by the base of his bristled tail. They collided into one another, covered in sand, panting and in Ash’s case hissing as he freed his tail and the vine slithered back into the earth.

Luna forced herself to sit up, spitting out a mouthful of sand. “Close one, huh guys?”

“Let’s never do that again,” he grumbled. “Watch where you’re putting your dumb feet.”

Luna stuck out her tongue, and Ash did the same, while Willow wiped fearful tears off her cheeks. Realizing petty arguments were the worst thing for her little team right now, Luna shuffled over to Willow, placing her hands on the girl’s drawn up knees.

“Hey, it’s okay, Willow,” she patted the sand away from Willow’s leggings. “Thank you for saving us.”

Willow sniffed and looked up at her, rubbing tears and leaving sand grit on her cheeks instead. Sighing, Ash joined them as well, plopping down beside Willow, his tail flicking around her.

“We’re all okay, let’s just take this a bit slower, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Luna agreed, leaning forward to wipe the grit of Willow’s cheeks. “We’re doing great! Sand pits. Check. You zapped off those giant buzzard hornet things earlier? Check. And Ash figured out those berries on the cacti were poisonous before any of us ate them! Guys, we are doing so good.”

Willow looked a little more enthused, nodding along to their small victories with a tiny smile. “Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Ash encouraged, bumping her shoulder.

“Yeah! C’mon, I thought this place was supposed to be hard to make it through,” Luna smirked, standing and helping them both to their feet. “Let’s get moving.”

She turned to take a step only to feel the sand beneath her toes shift again.

“Luna, watch where you---!!”

* * *

Adora and Catra arrived in Thaymor by early afternoon.

The town looked just as Adora remembered it. But despite the decorations for the Harvest festival hanging from buildings, she could sense tension in the air. Cautious, the duo made their way into the main square, where they were almost immediately sighted by a few anxious villagers.

“She-Ra!” one of them shouted, pointing to Adora and suddenly they were swarmed.

“You have to help us, She-Ra,” another begged, tugging at Adora’s jacket. “Thieves stole our herd.”

“Thieves? Stole your what?”

“Our pegasi,” another said. “Three kids! They raided out festival and stole our horses and flew off!”

Catra and Adora exchanged equally concerned glances.

“Kids?” Catra clarified. “What did they look like?”

“One like you,” a villager replied with a bit of a sneer. “One with a large tail, and a short blonde one.”

Adora fought the dual urge to scream out of frustration and sob with relief. The kids were alive, and they were on the right track.

Unfortunately… They were also now felons.

“Let me get this straight,” Adora sighed, rubbing her temples. “You’re telling me the kids _were_ here… But they somehow managed to escape… _all of you?_ ”

“They stole our herd!” One very distressed villager wailed yet again.

“Yeah we got that part,” Catra drawled.

How they were going to track the kids from the ground when they’d taken to the sky, Adora wasn’t sure, but it was starting to feel hopeless.

“We’ll get them back for you,” Adora promised the concerned crowd, despite having no way to follow through. “I’m sorry this happened. We’ll do everything in our power to make it right. I give you my word as She-Ra.”

The villagers muttered a few gripes here and there, but most seem satisfied if not saddened their festival had been ruined. Before Adora could ask which direction, they’d flown, she and Catra heard a familiar call:

“Guys! Wait up!”

Turning, they saw a flustered Scorpia bumbling her way through the crowd. She pushed her way through the assembly as carefully as possible, offering apologies and awkward chuckles when she knocked a few smaller villagers aside with her tail.

“Scorpia?” Adora was more than surprised to see her here, considering they’d agreed she’d search the lands beyond Plumeria. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t be mad okay?” Scorpia began, as if Adora had any right _to_ be angry. “I decided to follow you guys. Now don’t worry! I left Perfuma and a few of the other Plumerians to search where you told me to. I just—I thought maybe you guys might be headed in the right direction and that you might need some help and I—,”

She paused and Catra and Adora glanced nervously at one another.

“—I can’t sit at home and do nothing while my wildflower is out there somewhere! In danger… Probably missing Snips…”

Adora felt her heart twist at the mention of Scorpia, and now Willow’s, tiny scorpion plushy. “Scorpia, I’m sorry—,”

“It’s fine, Adora.” Scorpia waved her off, but her tone told everyone it was not fine. “Just let me come with you guys, please? I need to help bring my daughter home.”

As if Adora would tell her no. She’d just been under the assumption that Scorpia didn’t want to be within a two-hundred-meter radius of her.

“Of course, you can come with us. I’m sure we can use the help. Right?” Adora elbowed Catra, who grimaced and hissed in reply. “Catra agrees.”

It was at that moment that a loud commotion came from the edge of town. All three women turned to see a herd of pegasi flying in from the south. They landed in the tiny corral, looking tired, but unharmed. As the villagers swarmed the returning horses, Adora turned to her companions.

“Looks like that’s our direction.”

“If they flew out on pegasi, how far do you think they’ve gotten already?” Catra’s eyes were a little too wide, hinting her concern.

“Far enough,” Scorpia on the other hand looked determined. “We should get moving, c’mon.”

As the Scorpioni made her way to the edge of the village. Adora was surprised, but grateful, for the unexpected leadership Scorpia displayed. Giving Catra a nudge, she hurried after their new team mate, leaving the frantic Thaymorians behind.

* * *

Adora, Scorpia and Catra traveled on foot, long into the night. They knew that the kids’ sky journey put them leagues ahead, and that they would need to move quickly and efficiently to even have hope of catching up. Their journey was mostly made in silence—with the odd argument about which direction to take next. Otherwise, there was not much discussion among them.

Although Adora’s feet ached in her boots, she would have walked all night, had Scorpia not insisted that it was too dark to continue safely, even by the light of the moon. Catra seemed to disagree, her narrowed eyes glowing in the dark. But luckily for them all, she did not argue, and instead helped Scorpia gather kindling to make a fire.

Adora laid out their sleeping pads while the other two built a fire pit. A brief crackle of Scorpia’s lightning magic lit the clearing and then a warm flickering flame took its place. They each took a seat around the small flame. The night wasn’t particularly cold, but the rhythmic crackle of fire was soothing to watch. Adora stared hard into the flame, ignoring the throbbing in her injured arm as Catra pulled out a few of their rations to cook for the evening.

They hadn’t been able to store much food, reserving more pack space for instruments to catch their own. But as Catra handed her a warmed moon-shaped pastry, courtesy of the Bright Moon chefs, Adora felt her heart ache with melancholy. She took a small bite, overwhelmed by the memories of the treats served at her wedding years ago, and chewed solemnly along with the others.

“You know,” Scorpia’s chuckle broke through the heavy silence. “I never thought all that Horde Field Survival Training would _ever_ come in handy again. Kinda surreal.”

Catra’s tail swished, a rueful smile quirking her lips. “Yeah… It does feel strange… Hey, which one of us do you think could build an a-frame shelter the fastest?”

“Oh, definitely you,” Scorpia clacked her pincers. “It always took me ages longer than the other cadets with these.”

Catra snickered. “I dunno. Adora actually had the record back in our squad days. But Kyle set it on fire before we could even get it evaluated.”

A vague and old memory played in Adora’s mind. The smell of burning pinewood filling her nostrils as she proudly awaited appraisal from the Force Captains.

“How’s Kyle doing anyway?” Scorpia asked around a mouthful of pastry. Both she and Catra now seemed undaunted by the dark clouds that hovered over Adora.

“Pretty good, I think? Last I heard he and Rogelio were discovering parts of Etheria no one’s ever really explored. Filling out the map.”

“That’s great,” Scorpia mused. “I hope he’s enjoying himself.”

“I’m sure he is. _Anywhere_ outside the Horde is probably a good place to be…” Catra trailed off, her smile dropping as all three former soldiers pondered those words.

“Well…,” Scorpia stretched and yawned, breaking the silence again. “Guess we should get some rest… I’ll tell you what, even practicing meditations and stretches with my wife for _years_ didn’t really prep me for this sort of travel again. It’s exhausting.”

Catra shrugged—Adora knew she hadn’t ever _stopped_ traveling. Ever on the move, even with her occasional pit stops in the other kingdoms.

“Or maybe I’m just getting old,” Scorpia laughed again, and Adora caught the wrinkles born from years of smiles around her eyes.

“We all are,” Adora agreed; the other two looked almost shocked that she’d spoken.

Catra’s brow furrowed as she stood. “Well, if you two are such old ladies, I’ll take the first watch with Melog.”

She stroked the big cat behind her, who purred in agreement.

“I can,” Adora offered, but Catra was already patrolling away into the dark, shaking her head.

“You absolutely cannot. Focus on your injury and get some rest for tomorrow.”

Catra was gone before Adora could argue. She turned to Scorpia who was eyeing the bandage on her arm.

“Want me to take a look at that?” Scorpia offered, holding up her own personal knapsack. “Perfuma helped me pack a bunch of herbs and ointments from home before I left. Just in case. Lots of ‘em really help with energy and injuries.”

Adora couldn’t say no to the earnest look in Scorpia’s dark eyes. Turning down her help out of stubbornness wouldn’t help her guilt anyway… Adora knew it was _her_ fault Scorpia was out here with the in the first place, worrying for and missing her own daughter.

So she nodded and Scorpia scooted over, snipping away the bandage. The smell of blood and infection hit Adora and she quickly turned her head away.

“Yeesh… What did you guys run into?” Opening her bag, Scorpia pulled out a few different pastes of varying colors.

“Some monster in the Whispering Woods,” Adora replied, keeping her head turned as Scorpia applied cooling salves. “It got a lucky shot in.”

“Hard to get back into the mindset of ‘hey this thing wants to kill me’ twenty years after a war, huh?” Scorpia chuckled. She worked quickly, even with her pincers, laying a few waxy leaves over the wound and then binding it with a fresh cloth. It already felt far better than minutes ago. Adora looked down at her finished work and flexed her arm, thanking Scorpia with an earnest nod.

Scorpia smiled back. It was genuine, despite the tired sadness in her eyes.

“Let’s both get some rest,” she said, scooting back over to her cot. “Oh, sorry if I snore, by the way. ‘Fuma says she thinks it’s cute, but I know my wife is _really gracious_.”

Scorpia laughed as she lay back on her bedroll. Following suit, Adora looked up at the starry sky, allowing her mind to drift back to her own wife.

She didn’t know why, but the words slipped out of her too quickly to stop.

“When Glim and I first got married she said I really used to scare her at night.”

“Oh?” Scorpia’s voice seemed distant as she recalled the memory. “Restless sleeper?”

“No… The opposite, really. I was so still. Rigid… It’s how I spent eighteen years in a Horde barracks, y’know? But she’d wake up and think I was dead or something. She’d try to check without waking me up.”

Scorpia chuckled. “Poor Glimmer.”

“Oh, I think she won in the end,” Adora chuckled. “She started insisting on ‘starfish snuggles’ after a while.”

“What’s that?”

Adora closed her eyes, smile spreading her lips as she remembered the mornings she woke with every one of Glimmer’s limbs wrapped around her. “I was allowed to sleep in any position I found most comfortable. And then Glimmer would just… Starfish on me.” Adora stretched her limbs out and let them flop, locking onto an invisible partner to illustrate. “Drape… and cling. Yknow… Like a starfish?”

Scorpia had turned onto her side, one arm propping up her cheek. She was grinning, the firelight making her eyes twinkle.

“I’m gonna be honest…. I’m still not sure I’ve ever seen a starfish… But that’s sweet.”

Adora hummed her agreement. “Yeah, she said it was so she could feel me breathe. And that was she wouldn’t be scared no matter how still I was.”

“Pretty smart idea!”

Folding her hands over her chest, Adora sought out the brightest stars in the sky, allowing the warm memory to fill her. “It sure was. That’s my—That’s Glimmer…Smart and stubborn.”

Adora let her eyes shut after that, lulled to sleep by the warm memories of simpler times with her family.

* * *

It was terrifyingly cold the first night the kids spent alone in the Waste.

They’d traveled for most of the day, drinking pulpy juice from the various cacti Willow managed to pull up. And they’d huddle together in a sandy cavern to keep warm as night fell. But by morning, they were still unsure how close they were to the center of the waste. And beyond that, the hot sun was scorching them, and the little water they were able to obtain was barely doing enough to stave off its effects.

Their pace slowed, Luna leading the slow trudge through the sliding sands, when suddenly she saw something moving on the blurry horizon.

“Wait,” She stopped short, throwing out an arm. Ash and Willow bumped into her anyway.

“Whazzat?” Ash narrowed his eyes, peering into the hot sands.

“I dunno, but it looks like it’s moving…”

“Is it a monster?” Willow asked, more cautious than the other considering how many close saves she’d had to make over the past 24 hours.

“I hope so,” Ash groaned. “Maybe it’ll eat us and put us out of our misery.”

“No, no, look!” Luna peered closer and swore she could see the spin of shiny metal wheels. “It’s a transport!”

Her friends perked up, stretching to peer over her shoulders at the approaching vehicle.

“We’re saved!” Willow half sighed half laughed.

“What if it’s a mirage?” Ash grumbled.

The loud whir of an engine answered his question. Luna urged her friends to follow as she dashed towards the transport, waving her arms and shouting for its attention.

The vehicle was moving fast. It became clearer as it moved closer to them. One long, sixteen wheeled tented truck turning into three as they veered west. An entire caravan was heading … _somewhere._ Luna could only assume towards civilization.

Her shouting and waving didn’t matter, it seemed, as the head truck came barreling towards them. It nearly bowled them over, sprays of sand being kicked up from its wheels.

“It’s not stopping!” Ash shouted as it chugged by.

Thinking quickly. Luna reached for one of the ropes that dangled off the back of the truck. It was doing a pretty good job of keeping the many boxes and bags tied down in the back. With a slight jump, Luna managed to get a firm hold on the rope, tugging herself onto the side of the large truck before reaching back for the others.

Ash leapt gracefully, crawling over Luna and plopping down amongst the boxes. Willow was slowing, and Luna had to stretch to reach her hand. With a firm tug from both her and Ash, all three tumbled into the caravans stockpile, blinking at each other in disbelief. They burst into nervous laughter, realizing they’d narrowly avoided dying in the desert through sheer luck.

Ash sat up, picking at the lid of one of the boxes, that had popped open slightly amidst the bumpy ride. “Where do you think these trucks are going?”

“Somewhere to sell all this stuff?” Luna suggested as Ash tossed her a fresh apple from inside the opened box.

“Like civilization?” Willow asked, still flat on her back; the apple Ash threw at her landed soundly on her stomach before rolling away.

“I dunno if _anywhere_ in the Waste counts as civilization,” Luna teased.

“Yeah, but like… beds? Cooked food? … Nothing trying to kill us every two seconds?”

“Yes, yes, and—,” Luna took a bite of her apple. “Probably _still_ the last one.”

Willow groaned as Ash and Luna shared amused grins. They settled in for a hopefully quick, and very bumpy, but _free_ , ride across the Waste.

* * *

Glimmer fell into a routine as quickly as she could. After breaking under the grief of finding Adora’s earring and ring, she pulled herself back together by the tattered edges, and resumed her role as infallible Queen. There was still danger to the Kingdom to worry about. She still needed to check in with Bow and Entrapta regarding a planet wide broadcast to find the children. She still had her day-to-day meeting with foreign dignitaries, and mountains of paperwork to go over with language she could barely process.

But she got to work and didn’t allow anything to break through the powerful façade. But she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone. The guards flinched when she barked orders at them, but concern was written clearly on their faces even as they hastily did as they were told. The kitchen staff brought her meals with added delicacies. They prepared her favorite chamomile tea and left little violets around the saucer. Glimmer promptly tossed them out her window.

She kept Adora’s ring and earring in their bedside drawer, and Luna’s stuffed Kowl tucked away beneath her covers. Out of sight, out of mind. She was every image of a perfect Queen—except when her father caught her eye.

Glimmer knew he could see right through her, and so she did her best to keep away from him. Even going so far as so occupy him with papers and meetings she couldn’t attend on her own. Micah’s eyes were sad, his usual smile replaced by a grim frown. Glimmer knew he was trying to catch her alone. And she knew she second, he did, she would break again.

She couldn’t afford that.

Only twenty-four hours after Adora had left with Catra, Glimmer received a commcall from Bow in her quarters. He looked just as tired as she felt. His beard was untrimmed, his glasses smudged and crooked, dark bags under his eyes.

But he smiled when he saw her appear on screen, and it filled Glimmer’s heart with warmth.

“Hey there, Your Majesty. Holding up okay?”

Glimmer almost dropped her façade in the wake of Bow’s kindness, but she snapped back at the last second.

“Everything’s running smoothly over here. How’s the signal coming along for you two?”

Bow’s eyes dimmed a bit at her tone. “Well… Lucky for us. Entrapa and I have been dropping satellites around the planet for years now. We’ve got everything set up to release a planet wide signal that’ll reach the farthest corners of Etheria. We’ve just been drawing up some pictures of the kids, as well as descriptions, to send out so that everyone will recognize them. We’ll have it ready in just a few hours, I think.” Bow paused and removed his glasses. “Anything you can think that we should add to the broadcast?”

Glimmer chewed her lip in thought. “A reward? Maybe if… If they’ve already run into danger. If someone has them—They could be convinced to release them.”

Bow nodded a bit darkly. “I’m sure they’re just fine, Glimmer. But… I mean, I—I guess it couldn’t hurt. Yeah… We’ll add a ‘payment for safe return’…”

“Thank you, Bow,” Glimmer felt her stomach clench, tears stinging her eyes.

“Of course…,” Bow’s voice held grief Glimmer didn’t want to discuss. “You want me to contact you again when it’s ready to go?”

“No,” Glimmer’s voice was edged with bitterness. “Just send it out as quickly as you can. Tell Entrapta I appreciate her hard work. Now if you’ll excuse me, Bow. I need to get to my next meeting.”

“Glimmer, wait—,”

Glimmer cut the commcall, inhaling a shaky breath to steady herself. She’d only barely succeeded when she heard the quiet ‘ _click_ ’ of her door closing. Whirling around, Glimmer saw Micah standing against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes dark and carrying more grief than usual.

Glimmer knew she was trapped. She was too exhausted to teleport, and even if she did, Micah seemed relentless in his pursuit to talk to her.

“Everything alright?” he began gently, crossing the room with measured steps.

“Bow will have the signal ready to send out soon,” Glimmer assured him, forcing herself to straighten and meet his gaze, hating the way it made her feel so small.

“That’s good.” Micah stopped in front of Glimmer.

“It is,” Glimmer replied curtly.

“But that’s not what I asked.” Her father’s face was stoic, but his eyes seemed filled with tears she knew wanted to spill over with her own.

“Is everything alright?” he asked again, and Glimmer felt her breath catch.

She looked away, squeezing her eyes shut and then gentle fingers were under her chin, turning her back and when Glimmer opened her eyes she saw all her pain reflected in Micah’s and the tears burst out of her.

Shaking her head, she wailed and threw herself into Micah’s arms, allowing herself to be weak as he held her tightly.

“Everything’s wrong,” she wept. “I can’t concentrate on aything. I can’t use my powers. I don’t know where on Etheria my own child is, or if she’s even alive. And Adora—she left her earring behind. She’s—,”

Micah tensed slightly, interrupting, “She what?”

Sniffling, Glimmer extricated herself from the embrace to pull Adora’s abandoned jewelry from the bedside drawer. She dropped them in Micah’s rough palm, watching as he stroked over the familiar items with his thumb.

“She left them behind,” Glimmer mumbled again, feeling numb as she studied the jewelry too. “She left _me_ behind.”

Micah sighed slowly and then returned the jewelry to the bedside drawer carefully, before returning to Glimmer. He placed gentle but firm hands on her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” he began, and the raw emotion in his voice made Glimmer’s eyes burn again. “I know this isn’t how you _wanted_ things to be… I can’t say I know exactly _why_ Adora left these behind… But I do know one thing to be absolutely true.”

Micah squeeze her shoulders.

“Adora loves you very much. All she wants, all she ever wanted, was to be your hero. And now it extends to Luna. Everyone’s done a pretty good job of beating it into her head how much of this is ‘her fault’.” Micah stressed the words as if he didn’t agree. “She’s doing what she thinks will make this right. She told me as much before she left.”

Tears that burned with frustration and regret stung Glimmer’s eyes, making her throat tight and sore. “Well she’s doing it all wrong.”

“Maybe so,” Micah mused. “But she _is_ trying to correct her mistakes. I know it’s confusing… There’s a lot of hurt between you two right now. But I think you should try too, Glimmer.”

Glimmer sniffed, rubbing her eyes and trying not to remember how much she loved her wife’s earnest, absolute and powerful sense of duty. “Try… what?”

“To let her know.” Micah jerked his chin to the commpad on her side table. Catra and Adora had taken its partner and were expected to check in roughly every 48 hours with status updates. “Let her know that you still love her.”

Glimmer knew her father was right. Part of her wanted to argue and insist that Adora should already know that. She shouldn’t have to prove something that was already intrinsic. A larger part of her knew she’d done a terrible job in keeping up their relationship lately. Her father was right.

“Thank you, Dad,” she murmured, allowing herself to be pulled into a firm and warm embrace.

“It will be alright, Angel,” he insisted softly.

Glimmer wasn’t sure he was right about that. But she knew she had to try.

* * *

The Valley of the Lost was abuzz with activity as the high noon sun rose in the Waste’s saturated sky.

Ember leapt off the transport as if dropped herself and her tiny crew in the center of the Hub. This trip had _cost_ the small crew of bounty hunters more than they’d set out to earn, and all three were sulking. They weren’t normally this unsuccessful… But between Rod accidentally losing the tracker for the quarry, Frigg leading them into that ambush that cost them their supplies, and Ember accidentally dealing the (eventually) fatal blow to their target… The three had returned to the Waste empty handed. Owing their benefactor, the money they’d lost for taking their ‘Wanted: Alive’ target very much ‘Dead’.

“So have we decided what we’re gonna tell Gio about failing the mission?” Rhod asked, a cheery pep in his tone despite their impending doom. Ember could never decide if the large lizard was just naturally positive, or too stupid to grasp the gravity of their situation.

“About _you_ failing the mission, maybe?” Frigg, the harpy, droned—examining her talons with blasé indifference. “I did my part.”

“Was your part to sabotage us by literally failing to do the one thing you’re good at?” Ember barked back. “ _Fly and keep an eye out for ambushes_?”

Frigg’s eyes narrowed impatiently. “Hey, I wasn’t the one who overcooked the target because he looked at me funny.”

Ember’s fingers twitched despite her best efforts, flames licking at her fingertips as she envisioned turning the harpy into their next cooked meal.

“Hey guys, look!” Rhod tapped them both with his large tail, drawing their attention to one of the newer additions to the Valley. Large commscreens had been installed years ago, back when Huntara and Tongue Lashor banded together to turn the people of the Crimson Waste into more of a community. They weren’t entirely successful, and there was still infighting among groups. But the Valley in particular had turned into a technologically advanced Hub of communication, travel and knowledge.

One of the large screens above them was scrolling through three young faces: each one with a matching height, description, name … And payment for their safe return.

“Ember!” Rhod turned to her excitedly, nearly smashing a passerby with his tail. “Lookit the bounties on those ones! That’s a lot of zeroes.”

Frigg was looking too, eyes flashing greedily as the sums for the three kids added up. “Says one of ‘em is the Princess of Bright Moon.”

“Bright Moon?” Ember stared at the unfamiliar face of the princess in shock. “ _The_ Queen of Bright Moon lost her kid, huh?” A coy smile spread her lips. “How bad you think she wants that little twig back?”

“Pretty bad, I’d say,” Rhod tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Y’know, I bet any mom would go a little crazy for their kid if they were lost. Can’t blame her either. I mean _I_ don’t have any kids, but I can’t imagine—,”

Rolling her eyes, Ember stopped him. “So, if we catch the kid—Think we could put a little pressure on the Queen for her _safe_ return?”

“Like extra payment?” Frigg was grinning too now.

“Exactly.”

Rhod’s lizard brow wrinkled. “I guess we could try. We’d have to find the kids first though. And that screen says the last time they were seen was in the Whispering Woods. That’s _miles_ away from—,”

Ember rapidly tapped Rhod’s arm to stop him, pointing furiously in the direction of a nearby inn. Frigg and Rhod both peered over Ember’s shoulder to see three familiar looking silhouettes traipsing into the building.

The bounty hunters all looked back at the commscreen just to be sure before grinning at one another.

“Looks like we got ourselves another bounty,” Ember rubbed her palms together.

“If we swing this, we can pay off Gio _and_ still have enough to swim in money,” Frigg agreed.

“Wow…,” Rhod mused. “A whole Princess of one of the kingdoms. Today’s our lucky day, guys.”

“But it sure isn’t theirs,” Ember agreed, beginning to lead the way around the back of the inn. “C’mon, let’s get to work.”

Rhod held up a high five for Frigg, who puffed her feathers out at him and shook her head as she followed Ember around the building.

* * *

The innkeeper was a large brutish looking man with a snub nose and two small horns protruding from his forehead. Luna tried not to be intimidated as he loomed over the counter at them.

“You three wanted a room?”

“Yeah,” Luna’s cleared her throat when her voice cracked. “Just one. For the night.”

The innkeeper snorted, making Ash jumped slightly.

“That’ll be 300 bits.”

“Oh uh,” Luna glanced at her companions, who offered her wide-eyed shrugs. “We don’t… Have any money…”

The innkeeper looked unamused. “Funny that you thought you’d be able to afford a room then.”

“We just came in from the Waste!” Luna tried to explain as he began turning away. “Please? We’ve been traveling for days and we just need a quick rest. Is there anything we can do to—,”

The innkeeper cut her off, leaning over the counter with narrowed, dangerous eyes. “Travelers from _where_ …?”

Realizing that it was entirely possible they’d be recognized, even this far from Bright Moon, Luna bluffed, “Uh…From… the west…” She pointed vaguely out the door. “That way.”

One thick brow rose on the innkeeper’s forehead before he snorted again and shooed them away. “Sorry kid. Find some other bleeding heart to help you out. I ain’t housing any freeloaders here. I got a business to run. Get out.”

Turning to her companions, Luna gave them an apologetic sigh. She led the way out of the inn, hoping they could find another place to stay and regroup for the night. Ash and Willow followed quietly, clearly defeated and tired.

“Now what?” Willow asked.

But before Luna could suggest anything to lift their spirits, she heard a quiet whistle from around the building.

Turning towards the noise, Luna saw a tall red headed woman gesturing to her. Her nose and ears were pierced many times with gold ringlets, fiery red hair pulled into a ponytail that dangled to her belt. She was wearing dark clothes; they looked light in terms of material, but Luna couldn’t imagine the color was a good choice for the Waste. What stood out most about her, Luna noticed, were her piercing golden eyes.

“Kid, c’mere,” she whispered harshly, gesturing again. “You three need a place to stay?”

Almost immediately Luna took a step forward, only stopped when Ash grabbed the back of her belt and tugged.

She looked back at him, “What?”

But Ash simply shook his head, lips a grim line.

The woman noticed and rolled her eyes. “Come on. Nothing to be scared of kitty cat.”

Vaguely, Huntara’s advice about ‘trusting’ anyone in her hometown swam through Luna’s heat addled brain. But she was tired, and hungry and without any other places to go, she figured the worst that could happen was better than melting out here in the sun. So she tugged away from Ash and followed the woman, rounding the corner of the building into a small alleyway.

The woman stood in front of a stack of supply crates. They towered high, blocking off the alley. Beside her was an enormous lizard man. He blinked at the trio, one eye at a time, twirling his fancy mustache in one clawed and scaley finger.

“There’s a good run away,” the red head smirked, her eyes suddenly flashing dangerously.

Luna balked, stopping in her tracks so quickly that Ash and Willow bumped into her. Both gripped onto her arms./

“Run away? What makes you think we’re run aways…”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Three kids? No money, no supplies? In the middle of the Valley? If you’re not runaways, you’re the most idiotic travelers I’ve ever seen.”

“But… We _are_ travelers,” Willow lied, crouched so she was practically hidden behind Luna. “We’re from… the west.”

“The West,” the lizard man chuckled.

“Really?” The woman was now casually examining her nails; painted a chipped black. “I thought Bright Moon was further North.”

Cold dread settled heavy in Luna’s gut. She took a step back only to hear a rustle behind her. Peeking around, she saw a third member, a tall harpy woman with an elaborate outfit, and belt full of small weapons closing off the entrance to the alleyway. She smiled cruelly and winked.

“What do you want with us?” Luna returned her attention to the red head as Ash began hissing quietly beside her.

“Tell ‘em what we want with ‘em Ember,” The lizard chuckled.

“Money mostly,” The woman, Ember, dropped all pretense of teasing. She straightened and held out her hand to her lizard companion, who gave her a length of rope from his side bag. “Your parents are offering a lot of it for your ‘safe’ return.”

Luna’s mind was whirling, only halfway listening to the bounty hunter as she scrambled for a way to escape. Willow was exhausted, her powers would be drained. Ash was quick and agile enough to escape on his own and possibly find them help. If he could… Who would help them here? Luna still had the sword, but it felt heavy on her back, little more than a chunk of useless metal. All the while, the sun burned above them, slipping even into the mostly shadowed alleyway and making it hard to think.

“So, we can do this the easy way,” Ember stepped closer. “I tie you all up in a nice package, Rhod gets you on the transport and we all take a nice ride back to Bright Moon together.”

Luna’s heart pounded in her chest as the woman’s tone grew darker and she heard the scrape of metal as the lizard, Rhod, pulled a rapier from his scabbard.

“Or… We convince you with a few scrapes and bruises.” The woman leaned down, her molten eyes level with Luna’s. “If I were you, I wouldn’t fight. Frigg over there,” she jerked her chin at the harpy behind them, “hasn’t had a good meal in _days_. And I’m willing to lose a bit of cash for the safe return of 2/3rds of the bounty.”

All three bounty hunters shared a laugh, while Ember reached for Luna’s wrists first. On instinct, Luna jerked away. As she stepped back, the glare of the sun caught her sword. She saw the glint refract and catch Rhod in one of his huge lizard eyes. He squinted and flinched, his double eyelid closing.

Thinking fast, Luna grabbed her friend’s hands and squeezed harshly to let them know to follow her lead. When Ember reached again, Luna aimed a swift kick at her knee cap. She landed a messy but effective blow. The bounty hunter howled and stumbled, allowing Luna space to angle herself again.

The sun caught the blade once more, this time shining directly in the eyes of the harpy that blocked their way. She threw her taloned hands up to her face and Luna shouted for her friends to move.

Ash ran first, scrambling on all hours and knocking the harpy clean off her feet, making an opening for the others. Luna gave Willow a quick push and then all three were barreling out of the alley and running as fast as they could into the main square.

Vaguely, Luna heard a ‘don’t let them get away!’ but she didn’t look back to check how close their pursuers might be. She followed the others, bumping into at least a dozen people and causing a commotion.

“Sorry!” Willow shouted as she snapped one of the poles holding up a fruit vendor’s stand with her tail. Luna did not apologize to the vendor as she proceeded to topple a few more boxes behind her, hopefully blocking the way of their pursuers.

She figured she was successful when she heard a loud “ _WOAH”_ followed by a thud and a “RHOD!” as they ran.

A wry smirk spread her lips as she rounded the corner with her others.

“Up here!” Ash called, bounding up an old cart, scrambling a cobbled wall to reach the rooftops. Willow and Luna followed as gracefully as they could, slipping as the wall crumbled beneath their weight. Luna made it up before Willow, glancing down to check for their pursuers as Ash helped Willow. She caught sight of Ember charging the cart, eyes blazing furiously.

“Come on, let’s go!” Ash had seen too and was now bolting across slanted rooftops. Willow on the other hand, paused to gaze at their bird’s eye view, squinting at a faraway commscreen that showed their faces amongst other bounties.

“Guys, look! It’s us. Do you think that’s how they—,”

“Willow!” Luna grabbed her elbow, tugging her along as the red headed bounty hunter began scrambling up the walls.

Luckily, Luna thought as they ran—they had a better chance up here of escaping her. She was taller and heavier than them. If they could just lose her—

The flap of wings above her head made Luna realize she’d entirely forgotten their flying teammate. She looked up just in time to roll out of the way as the harpy, Frigg, dove for her with talons outstretched. Luckily, Frigg hit the roof tiles, her talons catching as Willow crashed into her. They went tumbling, feathers flying as Frigg fell off the rooftops. Unluckily, Luna barely managed to catch herself on a gutter before doing the same.

“Luna!” Willow called out to her, but Ash was there first, pulling her up to safety by the back of her collar.

Willow was quick to join them, but before they could move, the roof creaked under their centralized weight. In the next instant, the tiles cracked beneath them and they crashed into a poor unsuspecting woman’s living room.

She sat at her dining table, spoon floating between a bowl of something and her mouth as she registered three intruders and her broken roof.

“Hi,” Willow waved before Luna and Ash pulled her into a run once more, bolting down the woman’s staircase and through a few mazelike halls before bursting back into the sunlight of the Valley.

They were far away from the main plaza now, unable to see it, and only distantly _hear_ the noises of the busy hub.

“Think we lost ‘em?” Luna panted, the sword heavy on her back.

“For now…,” Ash’s ears twitched around, hunting for danger. “But we should keep moving and find somewhere to hide.”

“Good idea,” Willow agreed. “We need to figure out our next move.”

Luna glanced around, grabbing a tarp that hung over a few nearby crates and wrapped her sword in it. If the bounty hunters had recognized them so quickly, they needed to take extra precautions to hide their identities.

If word had reached the Waste, all of Etheria likely knew they were on the run now.


	9. Heart to Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The adventure continues with a bit of self discovery, a dash of danger, and a whole lot of of buried emotional trauma! Sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoy!

The trio of exhausted kids ended up taking a well-deserved rest behind some crates stacked high in a narrow alley. They huddled together for warmth as night fell again and the temperatures dropped.

Despite the lack of sufficient food, water, and shelter, when the sun rose early the next morning, Luna felt refreshed. They’d managed to escape their bounty hunting pursuers. And at least now that they had scrapped together some old tarps as cloaks to hide their faces, they could wander the Valley in peace. And maybe steal a few supplies before they moved on.

Was it stealing if you stole from a thief?

Luna pocketed that question for later, rousing her friends as she saw more and more people passing by the alley entrance. The Valley was awake, and they needed to get moving.

Willow groaned and curled tighter around the flour sack she’d slept on. “’S too early… The sun’s not even up.”

“Yes it is,” Luna laughed, tugging Willow’s cape off her head.

The girl practically, wailed, batting Luna’s hands away as the morning rays hit her face. Ash on the other hand was already awake, if not groggy, his pupils too wide and his ears hanging at different levels.

“What’s the plan?” he yawned, rubbing his face with clenched fists.

“Uh,” Luna crept to the end of the alley, peeking out at the crowds gathering in the square. “I think we should see if we can find some supplies and then get out of here. Maybe on a transport? There’s a lot of them coming in and out.”

“’Good morning, everyone. Hope you slept well. Time to steal!’” Ash teased, as he crept up beside Luna to peer out at the crowds with her.

Luna nudged his shoulder with hers. “You’re here a lot with Catra. What do you think we can get away with?”

Ash frowned. “I mean we pass _through_ a lot. I’m not, like, _familiar_ with this place. But… I dunno. Maybe some food stalls. Some water. I don’t think we can get away with much more than that.”

“How are we gonna find another transport?” Willow asked nervously, crouching slightly as she joined the others.

“I think there’s a skiff lot that way,” Ash pointed down one of the many branching pathways to their right. “Maybe we can find something to hop on there. I think that’s where most of the Transports come in.”

Luna decided the best thing to do first, was roam some of the main hubs to steal what they could. They wouldn’t last much longer in the Waste without food.

“Let’s go.”

The others followed her out of the alley without question, and they slipped into the shifting crowds.

They passed through the main hub, keeping their heads low as they walked under the commscreens still displaying their names, and into a smaller one, off a twisting side street.

There they found many food stalls spaced apart, dotted between stands displaying travel items, weaponry, clothes, potions, and artifacts that Luna had never seen.

One stall appeared to be some kind of game, with participants guessing where the coins they placed would reappear under moving cups. If Luna had any money to spare, she would have played. As it was, she stood behind the small crowd, trying to follow the rapidly moving cups from afar. Each time she was unsuccessful, so she figured maybe it was a good idea that didn’t have any money to bet.

She didn’t realize her friends had drifted off until she took a step back from the game. Ash was a few yards away, expertly slipping a few yellow fruits from a stand into his hip bag. Willow was not so successfully obtaining a loaf of bread, but Luna could appreciate the effort.

Another stand caught her eye before she could join them. Hand painted murals of She-Ra doing a dozen different heroic things, hung all over the stand. The vendor was a small, brown haired woman. She was currently painting another one, humming to herself as she worked.

Luna found herself approaching the stand despite the bitterness that flowed through her seeing the murals of her own mother.

She peered at one of She-Ra stabbing the Sword of Protection into an exaggerated form of Horde Prime. Luna didn’t know a lot about her mother’s war, but she figured the real Horde Prime didn’t have six heads.

“Interested in purchasing a mural?”

Luna blinked, realizing how close she’d gotten. The vendor has stopped painting and was looking at her.

“Oh, uh … No, I--I’m not really a She-Ra fan.”

The vendor chuckled. “Not many people that come here are. I don’t sell a lot. But I find her very inspiring. A wonderful muse.”

Luna frowned and pointed to the piece in her lap. “What’s that one?”

“This one,” the vendor held it up for Luna to see better. “Is a painting of the day She-Ra brought Etheria out of Despondos. She broke the Sword of Protection in doing so.”

Luna’s eyes drifted over the shards of blue and suddenly the hidden sword on her back felt very heavy.

“It’s a beautiful thing, don’t you think? Destroying something to start anew.”

“Destroying things isn’t good,” Luna replied dumbly.

“Sometimes it can be. A phoenix is reborn from the ashes of its own death. Great kingdoms rise in the ruins of others. A wildfire that burns through a forest leaves new growth and new life in its wake.”

The vendor smiled pleasantly up at her and Luna felt her skin began to itch uncomfortably. She wasn’t sure what to say to that.

Realizing she wasn’t getting a response; the vendor just shrugged and resumed her painting. “Good luck with your travels, little one.”

Flushed, Luna cleared her throat, offered a mumbled goodbye and scurried away to find her friends. 

She found Ash had abandoned the fruit cart and was standing frozen in the center of the hub, his eyes trained on something she couldn't pinpoint.

“Ash?”

The magicat boy jumped at Luna’s voice. His ears dropped when he caught her eyes, a small blush showing through his furry cheeks.

“You ok?” Luna prodded, reaching into his bag for one of the fruits he’d nabbed.

Ash nodded, his yellow eyes flickering back to the small group he’d been staring at. “Yeah, I’m fine it’s just… You don’t see a lot of them… Y’know?”

Luna looked at the small group, brow furrowing as she realized who he was referring to. “Of _you_?”

“Magicats,” Ash nodded, his gaze distant. “Yeah.”

 _‘There’s not many left…’_ Luna knew, but she didn’t say it out loud, simply laying a hand on Ash’s shoulder and squeezing. “Did you wanna…Talk to them?”

For a minute, Ash looked like he might say yes. His ears perked and his eyes widened. But then he snorted and shook his head. “Yeah right. Walk up and introduce myself to a bunch of creeps from the Waste? No thanks. We’re on the run remember?”

Ash maintained his glower as he followed Luna away, but his shoulders were slumped. Unsure what to say, Luna kept close to him, eyes scanning the crowds for Willow.

“We found some when I was a baby,” Ash mumbled suddenly, so quietly that Luna barely caught it among the bustle of the crowd. “Catra tried to give me over to them. I wonder what happened to them sometimes…”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Luna nudged her friend gently. “Just like you are. Hey, maybe after this mission, we can go on one for you. We’ll find all the magicats and help ‘em find each other!”

The corner of Ash’s mouth quirked up. “After this mission?”

“Well, yeah. We gotta finish this one first.”

Ash laughed and then jerked his chin through the crowd towards the tallest cloaked form hovering over a stand. “There’s Willow.”

They joined their friend at a stand filled with shiny items. Luna peered at the many bits of engraved metal figurines and cracked pieces of hand-painted murals. On one piece she noticed a familiar looking red tail.

“Hey, is that—,”

“Artifacts of the Scorpioni kingdom!” the small frog-looking vendor explained, waving his hands over the wares. “I picked ‘em out of the ruins of the Fright Zone myself! They don’t run cheap.”

Awed, Luna glanced excitedly at Willow, who was staring down at a few silvery shards of metal. Each one was embedded with tiny red garnets.

“What’s this one—?” Willow asked, her voice soft.

The vendor picked up a shard and held it to the sunlight where it glistened like a star.

“A piece of the crown that donned the brow of the greatest King the Scorpioni Kingdom ever saw… Before it was conquered by the Horde. He was a powerful ruler. And the last king to have harnessed the power of the Black Garnet before the Princess Alliance…. It’s 3,000 coins a shard, if you’re interested.”

Willow stared at the tiny object as the vendor set it back down. Concerned by the glaze of tears in her friend’s eyes, Luna touched her arm. “Willow?”

“That’s my Great-Grandfather’s crown.” Willow offered a weak smile. “My Grandma and Mom would have worn it too… Maybe if—,”

Luna looked down at the pieces, realization sinking like a stone in her gut. Willow’s heritage had always been ethereal to her. Nothing tangible for her to see or hold. Not like the murals in Bright Moon, or the First Ones ruins across the planet. For Willow—her family, who she was and where she came from—existed in stories that not even her own mother knew well.

It made Luna’s throat tighten with grief for her friend. She knew Ash felt the same when he tapped her with a swish of his tail, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Luna glanced at the vendor, then the crown, and back at Ash and nodded. A toothy grin appeared on the magicat’s face.

“Hey, what’s this one?” Luna lunged forward, loudly drawing the vendor’s attention as she snatched up a tiny porcelain pincer figurine. “Is it just a claw or does it do something cool?”

“Hey! No touching the merchandise!!” The vendor frantically pointed to a sign that said the same thing, as he tried to simultaneously lunge for the figure. Luna held it up higher, examining it in the sunlight with a squint. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ash quickly guide a confused Willow away.

“It doesn’t look very authentic. You sure you didn’t make this yourself? This looks like a firing line right here.”

“Where?!”

Luna held the piece out and pointed at a nonexistent line. “Right there. See?”

The vendor peered hard, his large eyes inches from the figure before he snatched it back. “I don’t see anything. Give it back and stop touching my things before you _actually_ break something!”

Luna let him take it and sauntered away from the table with her hands up. Ash had already shuffled Willow a safe distance away. She watched Luna approach with anxiety in her dark eyes.

“Luna! That stuff is fragile, you shouldn’t just—,”

Ash tapped Willow’s hand and she looked down, as the magicat set something in her palm. Peering at the shiny garnet inlaid metal piece in her hand, Willow’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

“Did you guys steal this?!”

“Shh,” Luna shushed her, pushing both of them out of the hub and into another side street. “Is it even stealing if it’s technically yours to begin with?”

“But it’s not mine! That vendor found it, and this is expensive and—”

“Willow,” Ash interrupted, closing her fingers over the shard. “It’s your Grandfather’s. And if it hadn’t been for the Horde, it would have been yours. Take it. Okay?”

Willow hesitated—then nodded and clenched the piece tight in her hand. She sniffled, eyes watering, and smiled at her friends.

“Thanks guys.”

* * *

They found a small skiff lot, near the west end of the Valley just like Ash had said. Beyond the lot they could once again see the endless waves of sand and tall rocky formations. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like any transports were moving in or out, and all of the skiffs were chained to their parking poles.

“Now what?” Ash groaned, grumpily chewing on one of the fruits they’d procured.

“Uhh…,” Luna looked around. “I guess we… Borrow a skiff.”

“Borrow?” Willow’s eyes widened.

Ash chewed unamused. “And return it how?”

“We’ll leave it at the edge of the Waste. They can find it.” Luna scanned the skiff yard, looking for the flimsiest chain.

“Luna, I was down for stealing fruits… But a whole _skiff_? You wanna be wanted criminals along with lost kids?”

“What’s your suggestion then?” Luna whirled on Ash as he tossed his fruit core aside.

“I wanted to wait for a Transport!”

“But we don’t even know where those are going! What if they take us _back_ the way we came?”

“Uh, guys,” Willow tapped them both nervously.

“Do you even know how to drive a skiff?” Ash shot back.

“No, but you do.”

“I drive ones with keys, Luna.”

“Guys!” Willow’s anxious whisper-shout finally drew their attention.

“What?”

She pointed to the edge of the yard, where three very familiar figures were traipsing through the front gate.

Ember and her bounty hunter crew.

Grabbing both her friends by the backs of their shirts, Luna dragged them behind the nearest skiff, pushing their heads down as she peered over the edge of the vehicle’s bow. The three were heading towards the kids. Luna was certain they hadn’t been seen, but that wouldn’t matter if they got close.

Cursing inwardly, Luna ducked down beside her friends.

“What do we do?” Ash’s eyes were wide and fearful.

“They’re gonna be extra mad after what happened yesterday,” Willow reminded.

Glancing around, Luna caught sight of the chain holding the skiff to its parking pole. Craning her neck up she could see a hint of the control panel. It looked to be mostly electric. If Willow could give it a jolt with her powers, it was possible they could get it to work, escape the bounty hunters, _and_ have a ride out of the Waste.

“Okay,” Luna whispered, ducking back down and gathering her friends. “Here’s the plan.”

* * *

“Where do you think those brats went anyway?” Frigg asked as the trio strolled towards their red and gold painted skiff. Ember had styled it herself, with crimson flames on the side. She was still rather proud of the vehicle.

“Probably ran off into the Waste,” Rhod suggested, tossing a fruit up into the air and letting it fall into his open jaws. “Dead now, I bet. Did you see how skinny they all were?”

“You’d better hope they’re not dead, or else we’re still screwed with Gio,” Ember reminded them. “Now get on the skiff. Frigg you search from the sky. But don’t go too far. There’s no way those kids are more than a few miles outside the Valley.”

A sudden clang drew the attention of the bounty hunters. They jumped, Frigg squawking loudly as a _ZING_ electricity cut through air followed by the roar of a skiff engine coming to life. Whirling around, Ember saw three (mostly) hooded figures clambering onto a skiff. One of them was holding a sword that looked very familiar.

“Well, speak of the devil, and the three gremlins shall appear.” Ember grinned and ordered her crew forward. “Let’s go collect our bounty.”

Rhod and Frigg scrambled to their positions, as the skiff the kids had boarded bolted jerkily out of the lot. Its engine banged, then stalled, the kids shouted, and then it shot off into the Waste like a rocket.

Grinning, Ember leapt into the pilot’s position and turned the ignition. Their skiff roared to life, its engine rumbling as it waited for her command. Her companions had _just_ settled into place when Ember threw the skiff forward and they rocketed after their quarry.

* * *

Adora, Catra and Scorpia didn’t have much to go off in terms of a direction. Once they hit the Waste, there was no trail to follow.

Not that they’d had one before. But Adora remembered getting lost in this place many times, all too well. With luck, the kids weren’t already stranded somewhere, suffering in the heat. Adora didn’t want to even _think_ about the poisonous plants and dangerous wildlife. She wished she’d done more to prepare Luna for survival in a place like this.

But she hadn’t thought she’d ever need to…

After a bit of debate, Catra suggested that they head for the ‘Valley of the Lost’. And the others agreed. All three former Horde soldiers were trackers and hardened travelers, but still, finding their way to the elusive hub wouldn’t be easy.

Besides that, the burning heat and wind made it hard to think. They took a break after a few hours in a sandy cave. Scorpia huddled near the entrance, keeping a lookout as Adora parsed out a few supplies. They needed to ration water carefully here.

Catra sat fiddling with their commpad. They were overdue for their check in with Bright Moon but finding the time to contact their team back home had been hard to come by. _Unfortunately_ , it seemed the cave and sandy winds were also scrambling the signal.

Or maybe… _fortunately_ , Adora thought bitterly.

They were on the right track, but otherwise had very little good news to report back. Adora wasn’t even sure what she’d say to her wife anyway. Or how much it might hurt if Glimmer wanted nothing to do with her.

Their last kiss still lingered on her lips, but it felt like it had happened many years ago. Distant and faded like a long-forgotten memory. Suddenly the commpad crackled to life and Catra grinned toothily at the screen.

“Hey there, Sparkles.”

Adora’s stomach flipped, her heart stuttering as she heard Glimmer’s voice from within the commpad. It was choppy, buzzing with static here and there. But the worry in her voice was unmistakable.

“Catra, where are you two? Is everything alright?”

Catra held up three fingers. “Three of us now actually. Scorpia joined us in Thaymor. The people there told us they’d seen the kids.” Adora noticed Catra conveniently left out the fact that they’d stolen the towns horses. “We made it to the Waste this morning.”

“The Waste!?” the connection screeched in the group’s ears, making them all flinch. “The kids are in the Waste?”

“Uhhh…,” Catra realized her mistake. “Possibly….”

Scorpia scooted into the cave, waving her claw to gain Catra’s attention. Bi colored eyes flickered up and then Catra flipped the commpad around for Glimmer to see the others. Adora wasn’t prepared. She felt like shrinking away as familiar, worried, lavender eyes fell on her.

Luckily, Scorpia took the attention. “It’s alright, Glimmer. ‘Fuma and I have actually taught Willow a lot about the Waste. Y’know we both spent a _pretty significant_ amount of time out here when we were younger. Willow’s totally prepared to deal with the elements, the sand, the monsters—,” Scorpia chuckled nervously. “Well, most of the monsters. She used to get pretty freaked out by the hornet buzzards… But! I’m sure they’re fine. And we’re gonna catch up with them soon. Right guys?”

Adora throat felt dry. She forced a reply she didn’t believe, to assuage her panicked wife if nothing else. “Right.”

Catra said nothing, her ears flattening. But luckily Glimmer couldn’t see her.

“Okay, okay,” Glimmer bit her lip, looking away from the commscreen to compose herself. “Okay, so you’ve made it as far as the Waste… Do any of you know what they plan on doing? Or where they’re going?”

All three glanced at one another before answering. They didn’t have a _solid_ answer beside the fact that the kids were probably headed for the Fright Zone. But rather than allow Glimmer to worry herself sick over a vague answer, Adora replied, “We don’t know… yet. But we’ll find them and bring them home before they get much father.”

Catra nodded and then set the commpad down so she could scoot around and face Glimmer too.

“How’s Bright Moon? Any danger?”

Glimmer still looked distracted. “No… Not yet? Should there be?”

“Maybe keep an extra guard around the Woods, fi you can. Adora and I found some concerning clues in there. Like…. ‘Remnant’ concerning.”

“An extra guard.” Glimmer’s brows were furrowed so low, her lavender eyes were shadowed in darkness. “Yeah. Yes, I can do that. I’ll do that right now—,”

“Hey, relax, Sparkles,” Catra teased. “Or all those wrinkles in your forehead are gonna stick.”

Glimmer’s mouth popped open to shoot back at Catra, until she saw the teasing smirk on the magicat’s lips and finally cracked a small smile of her own.

Adora felt her heart break that she wasn’t the one to bring it to her wife’s perfect lips. On the other hand, just a moment of seeing her happy again, almost made Adora smile too. For a brief second, Adora allowed herself to spiral into imagining a scenario where their return with the kids ended in Adora leaving, and Catra taking her place.

If Catra could make Glimmer smile in a time like this, maybe Adora could be selfless enough to let her pursue a life that she deserved. Even if that meant letting her go.

The dreary spiral she’d let herself fall into was broken when she heard Glimmer calling her name.

“Adora?”

The blonde snapped her head up. Everyone was looking at her.

“Yeah?”

“I—,” Glimmer paused, and Adora could see an entire war being waged within the eyes she knew so well. “I have to go now… Set up that extra guard. But keep me updated, more often please. Every 24 hours if you’re able to, okay?”

Adora nodded, trying not to let disappointment consume her. She’d been hoping for something else.

Glimmer nodded too. “Then I’ll talk to you all soon. Scorpia?”

Scorpia raised her chin expectantly.

“Keep them both in line.”

The princess grinned and saluted with her claw. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Catra?”

Catra’s ears flicked up.

“Keep her safe.”

Both Adora and Catra straightened at her words. The magicat ducked her chin with a soft smile. “I’ll do my best, Sparkles.”

“Ado—r… _a_ —I—” as Glimmer spoke to Adora, the connection fizzled and popped, dragging it out in a robotic glitch. The screen froze briefly, and when it resumed, Glimmer had moved significantly. She was closer to the screen, her hand poised over the power button. Her mouth was moving, but the sound was delayed.

“—love you….”

Glimmer’s expression was open, vulnerable. She was waiting, Adora knew, for a response. Adora hadn’t heard the entire confession, but the last two words were enough for the moment. The screen buzzed again and Adora practically jumped to respond.

“Glim, I lo—,” A loud crackle filled the cave and then the screen filled with gray and white dots before turning off entirely.

Adora let her confession die in the air along with the call.

Catra and Scorpia didn’t say anything either, but their pity was deafening in the silence. They ate their rations in silence, and afterwards, Scorpia suggested they move on quickly.

So they packed up, left the cave and resumed their exhausting journey through the Waste.

* * *

“Gimme the stick!”

“No, you don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Neither do you!”

“That’s a rock, that’s a rock! Right, right, right!”

“You’re other right!”

The skiff careened around a towering rock that loomed out of the sand, nearly knocking all three kids off.

With a tug, Ash righted the skiff and they began gliding smoothly along the sands. The warm wind whipped around them, sky bright and clear above. Despite the chaos, Luna felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest.

She grinned, throwing her arms into the air, as the wind tore at her hair and clothes.

“We did it, guys! We—,”

A fireball came soaring past her head, missing her by inches and careening into the distance.

“Luna!”

She heard another whoosh of flame and then Willow was tackling her to the deck as a second fireball flew by.

“Uhhhh, okay, they’re chasing us. In case that wasn’t clear!” Ash shouted, his grip on the steering stick white knuckled. Luna sat up, catching sight of the bounty hunters painted skiff quickly gaining on them.

Tiny blaster bullets from the lizard one’s gun flew over their heads, and yet another fireball came flying towards their mainsail.

“They’re trying to break the skiff not kill us,” Luna shouted over the chaos, struggling to stand and wobbling when Ash swerved to dodge the incoming attacks.

“They’re gonna do both if they don’t stop hurling fire at us!”

Luna saw the harpy rising from inside the skiff, taking to the air and speeding towards them. The vehicle was still gaining on them, and Luna could hear their own engine sputtering with the effort of maintaining a breakneck speed.

They needed a plan.

Taking stock of her surroundings, Luna caught sight of a pile of heavy ropes in the corner of the deck, a blaster pistol, a supply crate, and beyond that, she still had the sword on her back. Ahead of them lay sand, cacti, and a few craggy rock formations that turned into a pointy maze veering east.

“Ash,” Luna turned to her panicked friend. “Do you think you could take us through those rocks?”

Ash’s eyes widened, “Are you joking?”

Before Luna could answer, a fireball landed in front of their skiff, blowing up sand and grit and creating a dust cloud that they soared through blind.

Coughing, Luna sputtered, “It’s rocks or sand mines Ash!”

Gritting his teeth, Ash veered them towards the rocky maze.

“Willow!” Luna gestured her friend towards the ropes frantically. “Help me with these ropes!”

Willow didn’t hesitate, she followed Luna’s instructions to tie one end tightly around the skiff mast, and then helped Luna carry the other end to the bow of the ship.

Above them a loud screech pierced the air. The harpy was above them, wings flexed to dive.

“Willow!” Luna shouted again, and the princess closed her eyes, hollering and shooting a blast of lightning at their pursuer. Frigg rolled, dodging just in time to escape the blast, but falling a bit behind.

“Keep her off us. Ash—,” Luna pointed to two large rocks ahead, spaced evenly enough apart for her plan to work. “Take us around those rocks as tight as you can.”

Without waiting for a reply, Luna grabbed the stray blaster pistol and began shooting recklessly at the pursuing skiff. Her blasts went everywhere, missing most of the time, but two managed to catch the sail. Luna saw their skiff sputter and lose a bit of speed.

It wasn’t much, but it would give them the time they needed to set the trap.

Another shock of electricity coursed through the air, and this time, Luna heard it hit.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Willow shouted, as Frigg, spiraled through the air and crashed into the mast of her skiff. It snapped off entirely, throwing their pursuers farther behind.

“Go, Ash!”

Luna felt the engine kick as Ash approached the rocks and rounded the towering rock formation on the left side. As Luna lifted the heavy rope, he seemed to understand the plan, and slowed just slightly. Willow quickly assisted, holding a bit of the thick rope up while Luna used the sword to smash it into the rock face. She cut a deep crevice with one stroke, pounding the rope in with her hilt and then gesturing for Ash to speed up again.

The skiff rounded the rock and headed for the other. As they banked right, they saw the enemy skiff racing toward them at top speed, the point of their bow headed straight for their starboard side.

Ash kicked the throttle and they pulled ahead, rounding the second rock tower and looping around it. Their mast creaked as the rope stretched taught and then they rounded the corner to hear the bounty hunters shout as their skiff sailed headfirst into the enormous trip line.

The rope stretched and creaked, their skiff almost jerking into the rocks, until their own mast snapped off and the rope slipped away.

They heard a bang and then saw the small burst of flame and metal as the bounty hunter’s skiff careened into another rockface.

Ash didn’t slow, speeding around the wreckage and off into the Waste. For a moment, Luna was worried they’d killed their pursuers, until she heard Ember shouting Rhod’s name with fury, and Frigg squawking angrily.

As the sound faded into the desert, replaced by the tired hum of their damaged skiff, Luna turned to her friends with a slightly hysterical chuckle.

“I can’t believe we just did that,” Willow’s voice shook, but her eyes were bright.

“Yeah,” Ash’s tail was puffed and quivering.

Luna’s giggle turned into a triumphant laugh. “Nice driving, Ash! And Willow! That way you just _bzzz_ zapped her out of the sky like it was nothing! Guys!”

Willow giggled too, practically bouncing on her toes with the aftereffects of the adrenaline. “Your plan was amazing Luna! With the sword! And the rope!”

“We did pretty good,” Ash agreed, all his teeth showing in a grin.

“We really did.” Luna gaazed out at the horizon ahead. “Crimson Waste, conquered. Fright Zone here we come!”

Her shout could be heard echoing across the Waste.

* * *

They didn’t make it to the Valley.

Instead, after a few hours of walking, they stumbled across the wreckage of a skiff. It was on fire, engine popping, but one of them…A large lizard man, was still trying to fix it. The other two figures were bickering loudly as the trio approached.

“I cannot _believe_ you let a bunch of snot nosed brats outsmart you,” a fiery redheaded one in the middle screeched at her companions.

“Me?” the lizard snorted his nostrils flaring. “Frigg was the one who let ‘em get ahold of the rope in the first place! She can fly!”

“I didn’t _let them_ ,” Frigg, a harpy by the looks of her, shot back. “The tall one had _lightning_ powers, Rhod. She literally shot me out of the sky! I could have died, and you guys don’t even care. Wow.”

“It would have been a blessing if she’d roasted you!” the redhead growled.

“Hey, Ember.”

“What?!”

The harpy raised her middle talon. “Fuc—,”

“Hey!” Adora charged towards the trio, without waiting for the others. She’d heard enough to know that these three had run into the kids under what sounded like violent circumstances. She stopped in front of them, pinning the one in the middle with her most intimidating scowl.

All three paused in their squabble, blinking up at Adora.

Adora picked the one who looked most afraid, Rhod, and manifested her sword, pointing it at his snout.

“You,” she growled. “Tell me everything about the children you saw.”

Rhod gulped with fear, his eyes crossing to look at the sword point. “K-kids?”

“Adora!” Catra and Scorpia had caught up with her, flustered and angry. “What are you doing?”

“You heard them,” Adora kept her eyes on the three. “They saw Willow, and Ash. Luna has to be with them too. _Where_ are they?”

“Those brats are yours?” Frigg sneered, and her sly gaze darted briefly to meet the redhead.

“Looks like we’re in the presence of royalty, guys.” she tipped her chin, golden eyes flashing. “Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. The name’s Ember. Me and my companions here picked up the ’bounty’ for your kiddos. But I’m afraid we don’t have any more information for you. Right guys?”

Frigg smiled too widely and nodded, while Rhod just looked confused.

“We …Don’t…?”

“Not without a little persuasion,” Ember elbowed Rhod. He fell into the sputtering engine and it belched smoke into his large nostrils.

“How about getting your bony butts off that wreckage?” Catra suggested, her ears nearly flat against her head.

“Kinda comfy honestly,” Frigg mused, sitting on the smoldering metal to prove it.

Furious, and afraid for the kids knowing they must have _barely_ escaped bounty hunters, Adora pushed her sword tip into the center of Ember’s chest. “This is all the _persuasion_ you need. Tell me where—,”

Scorpia’s loud and nervous laughter startled them all. “Okay, okay, okay. Everyone. Calm down… Why don’t we all take some deep and relaxing square breaths. Okay? I’ll lead. Follow me. One—,” Scorpia moved her claws up and down, demonstrating a slow inhale and exhale technique. Nobody followed, except for Rhod, who’s large lizard nostrils flared with each breath, smoke puffing out in little rings.

“There,” Scorpia beamed at the unamused group. “Now that we’re all calm…. Can I talk to you two for a sec…?”

She pushed Adora and Catra a way, turning them into a huddle before either could object. “Look, I don’t think we’re gonna get anything out of those guys when they’re together. If we want information on the kids, we’re gonna have to squeeze them for it separately… Y’know?”

Catra leaned back to glare at the group who were bickering again.

“Scorpia’s right. Let me take the Harpy.”

“Deal, I’ll get some answers from Rhod,” Scorpia’s eyes were fierce, but the polite use of the bandit’s name dampened the effect.

“Fine,” Adora glanced up, her eyes meeting Ember’s. She smiled back pleasantly.

“I’ll take _her_.”

* * *

“Where are they?” Adora loomed as large as she could over the bandit.

They’d separated the group, taking them to their own interrogation spots among the sand dunes. The red head was cuffed with some spare rope Adora had in her pack. But she looked entirely non plussed. Adora couldn’t blame her, wishing she could turn into She-Ra.

“What did I say about persuasion?” Ember’s nose wrinkled. “You think I’m just gonna _tell_ you where the kids are? What kind of bounty hunter do you take me for?”

“One who’s about to be very sorry for speaking that way to a Queen,” Adora growled in response, pressing closer to Ember.

Ember snorted. “Oh, a Queen. Right. Say, why don’t you tell me a bit about your wife. Y’know, the _actual_ —,”

//

“—reason we were here was just to find some treasure!” Rhod exclaimed, his lizard nose twitching.

Scorpia blinked. No one had mentioned treasure before. Were the kids after treasure? Was this just a bounty hunter mind trick?

“What treasure! You don’t even have a map!” She gestured with one claw to the pile of guns and knives and other dangerous tools she’d removed from Rhod’s person before interrogating him.

Rhod blinked at the items, his eyes unconfusing for a moment. “That’s because I ate it…. And the kids were trying to steal it from us!” He sounded excited by his own dumb excuse. “They’re the crooks!”

“They’re not crooks!” Scorpia huffed. “They’re—,”

//

“—kids. Which way did they go?” Catra pinned the harpy bounty hunter with her best intimidating glare. The harpy eyed her up and down, ignoring her question.

“You don’t look like the other two. The fancy tall ones who clearly have money. What’s your deal?”

Catra scoffed. “What’s my deal? What’s _your_ deal? _I’m_ asking the questions!”

“Oh right,” Frigg blinked. “What was it again?”

Slapping a palm to her face, Catra let it drag slowly down her cheek. “Where are the kids? Which was did they go? How did you end up with a busted skiff?”

“That’s three questions,” Frigg mused with a grimace. “Which one do I answer first?”

Catra claws slid out of their own accord. “Pick one.”

“Okay…Wait…. Can you re—,”

//

“—eally expect me to believe that the _kids_ were the ones who destroyed your skiff?” Scorpia clarified, after gleaning a bit of what sounded like a wild chase through the desert.

“They did,” Rhod insisted with a solemn nod. “Those kids were a handful. Harder targets than we thought. Guess they got it from you—,”

//

“—won’t find them on your own,” Ember shrugged. “Not alive anyway. They may have escaped us, but the Waste is dangerous. Only the people who live here know it inside and out. Not even _you_ stand a chance, Your Majesty.”

Adora’s anger flared, but deep down she knew she was right. The very few times she’d been in the Waste, she’d flown above it on Swift Wind, or used a guide to get through. If they kept wandering aimlessly, they were likely to lose the kids trail entirely, or die trying.

“So whaddya say?” Ember prodded her from her thoughts. “Wanna strike a deal?”

“A deal?”

“Sure,” Ember kicked back, looking almost relaxed. “We help you track the kids down; you pay _us_ the bounty you promised. You have your gremlins; we get our money. Everyone goes home happy and alive. Sounds like a plan?”

“I—,” Adora didn’t want to trust the three bounty hunters that had cornered their kids, but it was sounding less and less like they had a choice, if she was honest with herself. “I… Need to talk to the others.”

“Take your time.” Ember’s golden eyes flashed. “I’ll wait.”

//

“I got nothing.” Scorpia sighed as the three reunited, while their bound interrogation victims waited.

“Me neither,” Catra grumped, clearly still fuming.

“Ember offered me a deal.”

The others perked up, surprised and cautious all at once.

“She said she’d help guide us through the Waste to find the kids, if we pay them their bounty… And probably then some.” Adora glanced up at her companions. “I don’t think we have a better option.”

“But can we trust them?” Catra’s eyes narrowed.

“Would they lie? What do they have to lose if we offer them enough pay?”

Scorpia tapped her chin nervously. “I – We should keep on our toes… No matter what. Trust no one in the Waste, right?”

“Right,” Catra agreed. “If we make ‘em believe we’re on board but expect the worst. Then we’ll be one step ahead, right?”

“Right…,” But Adora’s response, and Scorpia’s nod, were both unsure.

Carefully, the trio returned to the group of bounty hunters. Adora stood before their leader, gesturing for Scorpia and Catra to untie the others.

“Alright,” Adora met the red head’s golden gaze. “We’ll accept your deal. You help us find the kids. We pay you and part ways. No funny business. No lies. Deal?”

She reached out and cut the woman’s wrist ropes with the knife she’d stored at her belt. Ember flexed her wrists, a small tongue of flame flickering past her fingers before she reached out and shook Adora’s hand.

Her grip was firm, burning hot.

“Deal.”

Ember released her and turned to the others. “Alright everyone. Gather your things and follow me. Let’s find those brats before they get eaten by a sandworm.”

* * *

The sun was burning hot, but none of their new ‘guides’ seemed bothered by the heat. Catra and Scorpia were lagging behind, both of their tails drooping.

“I forgot how much this place sucks without the right travel gear…,” Catra groaned.

“Yeah… Wow… Try having a carapace.”

Catra gave her an odd look. “No thanks.”

The rest of their conversation swam through Adora’s ears like the shifting sands beneath them. In front of her, the bounty hunters were walking confidently ahead. She hadn’t seen any of them check for signs of the kids, but maybe they were confident in the direction they’d chosen.

Adora was finding it hard to think critically in the heat. She’d already sweat through her travel jacket and the dampness at her joints was becoming uncomfortable. She paused, slowing slightly to undo her bracers, frustrated when the sweat made it nearly impossible to slip off.

When she looked up again, she realized that their guides were gone. Around them were tall rocky walls and a few bits of dangerous bramble vines. Ahead was a narrow corridor leading to what…Adora wasn’t sure.

She didn’t even know where their guides had gone, and she realized Catra and Scorpia were farther back than she’d realized. The echo of the walls around them had made them seem closer.

Heart beginning to pound anxiously, a sudden and loud, “Look out below!” made Adora jump.

Frigg had swooped over her head, using her talons to draw up the back of Adora’s jacket and tangle it over her head, effectively blinding her.

“You looked like you needed to cool off, Your Majesty!”

A powerful _thwack_ of something heavy, knocked Adora in the back and into a bushel of something sharp. Crying out, she pushed away just quickly enough to avoid being entirely frozen solid by the bramble vines. Her joints were already stiff though, hands locked into fists, which she immediately swung, knowing she looked ridiculous.

Around her, she could hear chaos erupting. Scorpia and Catra were shouting. There was a loud clang of metal meeting what sounded like Scorpia’s carapace. Managing to rip the jacket off her head, Adora tumbled directly into Ember, who had reappeared with a vicious smirk.

She had no weapons, as far as Adora knew, but she braced a palm directly on the Queen’s stomach moments before an uncomfortable warmth pierced her shirt.

“Feeling a little toasty, Your Majesty?”

Eyes widening, Adora swung _hard_ , managing to catch Ember in the temple and knock her aside just as a torrent of flame lit up the corridor. It burned up the bramble vines behind her, a stinging, suffocating smoke rising in its place.

Frigg, laughed and rose high above the smoke, using her wings to batter it back down on the group still below. Rhod closed his nostrils and rammed himself into the blinded Catra and Scorpia. They crashed into one another and toppled, their bags and supplies flying. Rhod scooped all the items he could before scaling the wall very much like a tiny lizard.

Ember, still only visible through the smoke thanks to the flames rising from her palms, shot another blast as Adora who rolled but felt the hairs on the back of her neck singe.

Her laughter echoed in Adora’s ears as she was scooped up by Frigg and carried above the acrid smoke. “You three were easier than your kids. Thanks for the goods! When you die out here with them, we’ll send the Queen our condolences!”

Another roar of flame filled Adora’s ears and she realized that Ember was attempting to block off their exits.

“Come on!” Adora wheezed through the smoke, scrambling for Scorpia and Catra and dragging them down the narrow passageway. “Hurry!”

Her companions struggled behind her, exhausted, beaten and choking on poison air. A hot whoosh of flame hurried them along—death suddenly a very real possibility.

All Adora could think was that Glimmer would kill her if they died.

When they finally, burst through the other end of the corridor, back into open air and sand, all three collapsed onto the ground, trying to fill their lungs with fresh air. Their attackers were nowhere to be seen. Only a seemingly endless expanse of rock and sand.

Adora forced herself up, with still mildly numb arms. Their bags were gone, which included their food and water supply, their healing items, extra weapons…. And their commpad.

A hopeless fury constricted Adora’s chest. She wanted to scream and beat the ground, but all that came out of her were more ragged coughs.

Rattled, beaten, and embarrassed, Adora pushed herself to her feet and wiped the smokey sweat from her brow.

“Come on,” she ordered her companions, helping Scorpia to her feet first. “We have to go after them. They have our supplies.”

“Oh really? Thanks, Adora. I didn’t even notice when that dumb lizard stepped all over me and ran off with them,” Catra growled, knocking Scorpia’s claw aside and pushing herself up on her own. Her tail and clothes were singed badly, and there was some blood trickling from her split lip. “Forget the supplies. We need to keep moving. We’d just waste time going after them.”

Adora bristled. “How far do you think we’ll get without our supplies? Our weapons? They took the commpad Catra. How are we supposed to stay in contact with—with Bright Moon?”

“It’s okay, guys,” Scorpia interrupted. “It’s just a little hiccup. We can figure this out if we—,”

“And what were we gonna tell ‘Bright Moon’, huh?” Catra mocked her, making air quotes. “That we failed _again_? That _you_ got us lost and robbed and it’s been, like, three days since we _left_? I’m sure ‘Bright Moon’ would have been _real_ happy to hear that!”

“This isn’t my fault!” Adora felt anger rising in her chest, as choking as the smoke. “Stop blaming me for everything!”

“Then stop messing everything up!”

“Guys!” Scorpia tried to interrupt once again as Catra and Adora circled each other.

“You want to talk about who messed up? _W_ ho’s the reason for all this?” Adora felt shaky, but she stalked closer to Catra. “Who gave her the sword? Who filled her head with stupid adventures she could never have?”

“Oh, are we back to that?” Catra rolled her eyes, teeth bared. “Who treats her like a dumb little doll? Who locks her up in a tower and acts like she’s a good parent?”

“I _am_!”

“You wish you were! You’re not! You’re no different than Shadow Weaver and you know it and that terrifies you!”

Adora’s arm moved before she could think. Still halfway numb and heavy, she swung it hard, her fist connecting with Catra’s cheek. Catra stumbled, blinking in surprise as silence followed. Everyone was still, including Scorpia, who looked too shocked to continue playing peacemaker.

“You would know, wouldn’t you? You’re a spiteful coward then too... Is that why you took Ash in? To feel better about everything you've done to the rest of us?”

Catra’s eyes blazed with fury and she screeched, leaping at Adora, claws bared. Adora ducked, but Catra caught her jacket and they tumbled. Adora wasn’t sure where or what she was hitting. She kicked and hit and blocked—and failed—to dodge many blows from Catra’s sharp claws. She felt warm blood spilling onto her skin.

Her own or Catra’s she wasn’t sure.

All she knew was pain, and anguish, and guilt. And as they tumbled blindly, ignoring Scorpia’s cries, Adora suddenly felt the ground fall out from underneath her. Panicked, her eyes shot open and her hands shot out, managing to grip a bit of slippery rock.

But with her numb fingers, it was hardly a grip at all.

Catra slid beside her, yowling, and suddenly Adora realized they’d tumbled to the very edge of an unseen cliff. The drop wasn’t too far, but the side of the wall they clung to was almost vertical. If they fell they wouldn’t be able to get back up—

“Guys, hang on!”

“No, Scorpia—!”

The pound of Scorpia’s heavy footsteps shook the rocks, Adora’s numb hand gave way and as she fell, she crashed into Catra who slid down the rocky wall beside her. They landed hard; the ground unyielding beneath them.

For a moment, Adora just lay there, staring up at the blue-ish green sky above the cavernous walls surrounding them. Scorpia’s head appeared at the top, she was shouting something down. But Adora couldn’t hear. She was defeated.

Injured, items lost, kids long gone, battling her friends. She wanted to curl into a ball and give up here at the bottom of this pit. What was the point?

Catra didn’t seem to agree. She sat up, shook off the grit and yelled up to Scorpia.

“Get away from the edge!”

Scorpia ducked back only slightly. “Are you guys okay?”

Catra heaved a calming sigh and looked herself over before peering at Adora. “Physically? I guess. Find something to get us down!”

“Like what?”

“I dunno, plants! That’s your thing!”

“Right, yeah. Yes, right.” Scorpia disappeared for a beat before reappearing. “That’s my _wife’s_ thing!”

“Forget it,” Adora found the energy to push her aching body up again. “We’ll have to climb or something. Come on—,”

A hot flash of pain shot through her as Adora placed weight on her ankle. She collapsed with a cry, gingerly moving her leg around the examine the joint. It was swollen and red…but probably not broken considering she could still move it a bit.

Just sprained. But that didn’t help their situation in the slightest.

“Are you hurt?” Catra asked, voice bitter, but ears perked.

Adora shot her a glare, ‘ _what do you think?’_

“Like…more than usual, I mean?”

Ignoring her, Adora braced herself on the rock wall and forced herself to stand. It hurt and her legs shook beneath her and her lungs still burned, but she craned her neck to look up at Scorpia, who still peered helplessly at them from above.

They tried climbing…

They tried boosting one another.

Adora tried She-Ra, and her healing abilities, both to no avail.

Scorpia left for a while, searching for something to help them up.

The sun crept by in the sky, the heat eventually fading as hunger and thirst and the darkness of night replaced it. As both Catra and Adora began to shiver in the rocky valley, refusing to sit next to each other for warmth, Scorpia gave up on the high ground and slid down the slurry to join them.

“Great,” Catra’s disdain was muted, she also seemed defeated. “Now we’re all gonna die down here.”

“There was nothing up there, Wildcat,” Scorpia shrugged, her eyes tired. “At least we’re all together now.”

Catra’s ears twitched at the nickname, but she remained silent, curling tighter around her drawn up knees. Sighing, Scorpia gathered what tiny bits of dry shrub and grass she could find and built a little fire pit.

Using a bit of her lightning magic, she struck a flame, and the dark valley filled with a wary yellow glow. Above them, the stars appeared one by one, a full and bright moon casting its own light on the tired trio.

Adora stared into the flames, watching them flicker and whip, crackling quietly with the crickets and sounds of wind above. Catra’s words from earlier had now haunted her for hours. And without the distraction of ‘escape’ on her mind, they permeated her very being.

_‘You’re no different than Shadow Weaver’_

Catra hadn’t been wrong. She _was_ terrified. She always had been. From the moment she’d even _considered_ a family with Glimmer, she’d been afraid of her own shortcomings. Her own upbringing. Her own failures. And it had all come true. In the end.

She’d been the reason her family fell apart.

She was the reason Luna was out here with the other kids. Alone.

 _She_ was the reason they’d probably die out here, and Perfuma and Ash would lose their family too.

It was her fault; it always had been.

Suddenly the weight of the entire world rested squarely on Adora’s shoulder again. Maybe it had never left, and she’d just been pretending all these years. Maybe she was too broken to ever be more than what she’d thought she’d outgrown. Maybe—

“Adora, can I see your ankle?” Scorpia asked, gently, one pincer tapping the ground near Adora’s foot.

Shaking her head, Adora drew her injured foot away, the thoughts swirling so fast she thought she might pass out.

“It’s fine. I don’t need anything.”

Her chest tightened, her vision blurred with tears, she couldn’t breathe.

“Well, you should at least let me check it—,”

Adora burst into loud tears.

Both Scorpia and Catra froze, unsure what to do as their hysterical companion doubled over, burying her face in her hands.

Deep, guttural sobs filled the little canyon. Adora wept for the emotions she’d kept stored inside her for months. The confusion, and bitterness and guilt and _fear_ poured out of her now in tears, and finally, in blubbered words.

“I’m _trying_ my best,” she practically shouted to no one in particular. The universe maybe. The cold moon and stars blinking down on her in pity. As if _she_ hadn’t been the one to put them back in the sky.

“But it’s not good enough. It never has been! All I ever do is fail people, hurt people. I can’t escape my past. I thought I could. I thought I _did_. I thought I was a good person. A good wife. A good friend. A good mom. It’s all I wanted. After everything. After She-Ra. I just wanted to be _—_ To _be_. But I can’t even get that right. And now all I can do is hurt the people I care about.” She threw a vague gesture in Catra’s direction, knowing the accusation she’d made earlier was unfair and cruel. “I don’t---I don’t know how to be any different thought. I’m just me. I’m just Adora… And I thought that was enough for them I—”

She paused to choke out another shaky sob.

“I love them so much,” Adora squeezed her eyes shut, burying her hands in her hair and twisting until the pain made the tears run down her cheeks faster. “My family… I love them both _so much_. And they don’t even know. They think I hate them because somewhere along the way I screwed things up just by loving them too much. _And it’s not fair_. I never wanted to be the reason they were hurting. They—Glimmer and Luna, they’re my whole world.”

The confession that wasn’t really unknown left Adora feeling empty. She was numb and tired, and exhausted and lost. The tears dripped to a stop and she sniffed, letting the words hang in the air.

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t feel good enough for anything. I’m not She-Ra. I’m not a Queen. I’m not a wife or a mom. If I’m just Adora… What am I?”

She didn’t look up, not really expecting an answer. In fact, if neither Catra or Scorpia acknowledged the outburst, she might have preferred a night of stiff silence. What could they even say?

“Oh, Adora…,” Catra’s sigh was tired, as if she’d already known everything Adora was going to say.

Maybe she had, and it made Adora burn with shame.

“We know all that,” the words cut straight to the point, but Catra’s voice was softer than usual.

Adora heard the quiet scuff of dirt under padded feet and then a steady warmth pressed against her right side. Adora didn’t look up, but she caught the swish of a furry tail out of the corner of her eye.

“The way you blame yourself, and take _everything_ onto your shoulders, you’ve always been like that. Okay? And I’ve known you a _really_ long time.” Adora let out a rueful sniff and Catra nudged her with her shoulder. “Here’s the thing I think you need to get through your thick head. It’s not—A bad thing, to be the way you are. You… Care about people, so much that you’re willing to throw yourself in harm’s way for them. Even if maybe it’s something they need to deal with themselves.”

Finally, Adora looked up. She saw Catra beside her, gazing into the fire, her eyes unfocused. But her relaxed tilt of her ears told Adora what she was saying was something she needed to get off her chest too.

“You’re not a _bad_ person. I think everyone knows that. I think _you_ know it too. Whether you accept it or not. It does make you really… smothering through. If it was bad as your friend, I can’t really imagine how hard it is for Luna as your kid. Y’know?”

Adora wiped her nose on her sleeve, the words stinging.

Scorpia spoke up suddenly, shuffling a bit closer to Adora’s left side. “Luna looks up to you, Adora. She wants to be just like you. But I think, y’know… Ever since she realized she _couldn’t_ be like you… Not in the way she wanted to. I think it really broke something inside of her. And then, when you tried your hardest to help her, it just hurt her, because she felt like… Maybe you didn’t believe in her either.”

“That’s not what I—,”

“We know,” Scorpia interrupted gently as she huddled beside her companions. “But maybe if you really wanna fix things with her. You need to sit down and communicate where you’re coming from. And then accept where _she’s_ coming from too. Even if it’s hard to hear.”

Before Adora could respond, Catra began again.

“As far as Sparkles goes. Adora; I’ve never seen anyone look at another person the way Glimmer looks at you. It’s like she thinks you hung the stars in the sky or something.” All three chuckled quietly at that. “Look, she wants to fix things as much as you do, okay? I know she does. She’s never… _Wanted_ to fight with you, the way I did. You know it’s been nearly twenty years, but I’ll never forget what she told me on that ship when we were trapped together.”

Adora waited, as Catra fell suddenly silent.

“What did she say?”

“A lot of things,” Catra shrugged and chuckled. “All of them sappy. But mostly I just remember how _much_ she talked about you. You were at the end of every thought. Every regret, every good memory, every hope for the future. I guess I was right… You two _are_ perfect for each other. And I mean if that’s not love… I don’t know what is. I—Well, I guess I’m not the best person to ask what love is.”

Catra crumpled slightly, her ears flattening, and she tucked her chin on her drawn up knees.

“But you do know what love is, Catra,” Scorpia prodded soflty. “I won’t lie to you… After everything—ended, y’know, the war and stuff. I was really worried about you wanting to go off on your own. Proud of course. But worried. I’d spent a lot of time watching you be alone and seeing what it did to you.”

Catra’s tail flicked a few times.

“But I’m really glad I let you go, because when you came back, you looked happier than I have _ever_ seen you.” Scorpia beamed so hard at Catra her eyes crinkled. “And it’s cuz you had little Ash with you.”

Catra perked up, she looked at Scorpia and then at Adora who offered her best reassuring smile. It was true. She remembered the shift in Catra when she’d returned with the feral bundle of fur.

“I think you knew what love was all along maybe, but it got all tangled up inside you. And you couldn’t work it out until you met that little guy. It’s hard _not_ to want to be the best person you possibly can when you have a brand-new life depending on you for everything. Trust me, Wildcat. The way you care for him may not be a super, uh, traditional parenting style. But it’s clear that in everything you do, he comes first.”

“I wanted to be a different person for him. After everything…,” Catra murmured, almost to herself, and Adora could see tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “He still doesn’t know.”

“Maybe he doesn’t need to,” Scorpia pondered. “Or if someday you tell him, maybe he wouldn’t care. Cuz that’s not who you ever were to _him_.”

Catra nodded, and Adora felt her lean more against her side for silent comfort.

“Look, we’re all gonna make mistakes guys. Even more than we already have. I mean think about where we grew up! If you ask me, we’ve overcome a lot. And we _are_ good people, despite it all. We’re… Not perfect. We’re pretty beat up, in fact. But I’ve been really blessed to have ‘Fuma’s patience, and Willow has absolutely changed my entire life. I love her with everything in me. Adora, I know you love your family too. But your big heart sometimes overshadows the people you try to protect when they want to prove themselves to _you_. So we’ll work on that! And Catra, you know exactly how to love, but you’ve kept yourself alone because you’re scared of hurting people the way you used to again. But living in fear isn’t really healing. So we’ll work on that too. Okay, guys? We’re gonna be okay.”

Scorpia leaned in, gently wrapping her arms around both of them and hugging. “We’re good people. Say it with me. We’re good people and we’re gonna find our kids and bring them home and work on ourselves.”

Catra and Adora mumbled along until Scorpia released them and finally the tightness in Adora’s chest had been replaced with relief.

“I’m sorry I compared you to Shadow Weaver,” Catra offered, rubbing one eye that was still glistening. “You’re not anything like her.”

“And I’m sorry for what I said about Ash,” Adora replied. “You saved his life, and you did it because you’re a good person. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“Me neither.”

Adora stared down at the dirt before finally bracing herself to meet Catra’s gaze.

“Friends?”

Catra’s ears flicked, her lips curling into a smirk. “Unfortunately, we always have been.”

Adora beamed and then Scorpia was shoving them all into a hug again. But from the way they all melted into one another, arms wrapped tight, Adora knew it had been a long time coming.

* * *

**11 Years Ago...**

Adora had just close her eyes, prepared for sleep after a long day of Queen and mom duties, when her five-year-old murmured, “Mama? Are you awake?”

“I’m trying not to be, Lu,” Adora failed to keep the sigh out of her voice. She knew Luna struggled with the same racing mind _she had_ when she was younger. Sleep had never really come easy for either of them. In fact, the only reason Luna was currently snuggled into the Queen’s enormous bed with her, was because she’d come in complaining about monsters in her own room.

“Oh, okay,” Luna mumbled and for a second Adora thought that might be the end of it. But then she felt Luna begin to squirm again, tugging the sheets away from Adora’s chin as she kicked her feet.

“Mama, can I ask you a question?” Luna’s voice was pleading, Adora could practically see the pout in her bottom lip without opening her eyes.

“Just one, Lu. Then you need to sleep, okay?”

“Okay.” Adora felt Luna roll over to face her. “Mama… Will you stop loving me ever?”

Adora’s eyes flew open, landing on Luna’s—mirrors of her own, wide and round and sparkling with the beginnings of tears.

“Of course I won’t ever stop loving you, Lu. What are you talking about?”

Luna’s bottom lip trembled and Adora sat up quickly, pulling her tiny five-year-old body into her lap and cradling her.

“Why do you think I would?” Adora murmured, one hand brushing through Luna’s pink and blonde hair, the strands almost as soft as Glimmer’s.

Luna sniffed loudly; her tiny nose buried in Adora’s neck. “Ash says sometimes families break. He says Catra tried to get rid of him when he was a baby.”

Adora paused, struggling to form a response that wasn’t as complex as Catra herself. “Catra is … very sad sometimes. She thinks she needs to be alone. But she stayed with Ash. You know that, Lu. She didn’t leave him even when she was very sad. And _I_ would never leave you.”

Luna’s small hand toyed with the edge of Adora’s collar. “But sometimes I’m bad.”

Adora bit back a quiet chuckle. “Sometimes we all are. That doesn’t mean I would stop loving you. Would you stop loving me if I was bad?”

“No,” Luna drew back, her eyes round and shocked. “You’re Mama.”

“And you’re Luna.”

Luna hid her face again, tiny shoulders shaking as Adora pressed concerned kisses to the top of her head.

“Would Mommy ever stop loving me then?”

“Lu…,” Adora hoisted Luna more comfortably as she fully began to cry. “Your mom and I worked really hard to get you here. And we loved you always and forever from the moment we knew we were going to have you. Nothing will ever change that. Even when you’re a stinker sometimes. Okay?” She poked gently at Luna’s ticklish ribs, smiling when she got a watery giggle.

“You don’t have to be perfect to be loved. The fact that you _are_ Luna—that you are _ours_ —means that we get the honor of loving you forever.”

“To the moon…,” Luna mumbled, echoing the words Adora knew she heard between her and Glimmer often.

“And back,” Adora finished for her, kissing her forehead.

Just then they both heard a chime, signaling Glimmer had arrived. Sure enough, she appeared at the foot of the bed, already shrugging off her cape with a teasing, “Snuggle time without me?”

“Lu’s worried we’re not gonna love her anymore someday,” Adora explained as Luna peeked out at Glimmer from the cocoon of strong arms.

The absolute fury that contorted Glimmer’s face almost made Adora laugh. She knew her wife’s first instinct was to _fight_ whatever had put that thought in Luna’s head. Unfortunately, it seemed the insecurity came from within her own mind. And that couldn’t so easily be pushed out with force.

Glimmer quickly made herself comfortable on the bed beside them and Adora transferred Luna into her lap. She curled up around them, wrapping both in her arms.

“Lu, do you know how much I love you?”

Luna nodded and Glimmer prodded her.

“Show me.”

Luna held out an arm. “This much?”

Glimmer shook her head, “Nope. Try again.”

Luna sat up, smiling slightly as she stretched further. “This much?”

“Not even close,” Glimmer teased.

Luna pointed outside the window towards one of the moons hanging in the night sky. “That much!”

Glimmer pulled her back down, covering her cheeks and forehead in kisses. “So much more than that.”

“Than to the moon??” Luna clarified in shock.

Glimmer nodded, suddenly solemn. Adora tightened her arm around her wife’s shoulders, kissing her temple.

“I love you more than that, Lu.” She brushed Luna’s bangs back, kissing the tip of her nose and then her forehead. “You are my heart.”

“No, that’s Mama!” Luna objected, although her smile was a bright beam.

“You _both_ are,” Glimmer assured her. “I can fit you both in there.”

She took Luna’s small hand, placing her palm over the barely visible Failsafe scars on her chest. “Feel that?”

Luna’s nod was solemn. “Your heart.”

Glimmer nodded, leaning back against Adora.

“It beats for you, Lu. And nothing will ever change that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you thought!  
> 


	10. Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the title of this chapter didn't clue you in .... It's about Catra  
> A bit of a pause in pace, cuz we're actually comin' up on the final third of this fic! From here on out, it's a dead bolt to the finale. I hope you enjoy this little update, thank you for all the support thus far!!  
> I wanted to include a bit more, but this chapter hit 10k cuz I'm wordy, so I split it... 
> 
> In summation: The kids and the moms escape the Waste, Glimmer is STILL sad, and Catra reminisces about her offscreen growth lmao. Oh also there's more bad guys.

Frigg dropped Ember roughly onto the sand after they’d flown far enough to ensure that if the group of royals _did_ escape; they would be too far behind to bother following.

“Watch it!” Ember snarled as she nearly rolled into a cactus.

Frigg just shrugged, shaking off her wings and jerking her chin towards Rhod. “What did they have on ‘em, Rhod?”

“Uhh…,” Rhod turned the bags he’d stolen upside down, dumping the contents into the sand. “Not too much, I guess.”

Ember crouched, poking through the items. There were a few extra daggers, some potions and salves, a tiny money pouch (nothing worthy of the Queen the blonde one claimed to be), and a commpad. Frowning, realizing that even stealing from _a Queen of Etheria_ hadn’t gotten them the bounty they needed, Ember picked up the commpad, brushing sand off its smooth screen.

“We could probably sell _this_ for a good price at least. I know a vendor who likes to take tech like this for spare parts.”

“Who? Chadley?” Frigg snorted. “Like he’d give _us_ a fair price. We’re better off just giving that thing to Gio himself.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Ember agreed with the harpy for once.

Frigg blinked, equally as astounded. “It’s not…?”

Turning the commpad over, Ember showed her friends the crescent moon symbol adorning the back. “This looks like a direct line to Bright Moon. If Gio wants his money he can squeeze it out of the Queen herself.”

Rhod and Frigg exchanged understanding glances, their eyes glowing greedily.

“Not such a bad catch after all—,” Frigg’s sneer turned into a squawk of surprise as the commpad suddenly buzzed loudly in Ember’s hands.

The fire wielder jumped so suddenly that she nearly lost her grip on the commpad. It bounced between her hands a few times, before landing face up in her palms—the Crescent Moon symbol on the dark screen now blinking up at them.

All three bandits stared at it, unmoving.

“Issat—?” Rhod murmured, eyes wide.

“—The Queen?” Frigg finished for him. “The _real_ one?”

Ember glanced frantically at her companions. “Do I answer it?”

Rhod and Frigg answered at the same time:

“No.”

“Yes.”

Rolling her eyes, Ember pressed, “What do I say?!”

“Let _me_ answer it!” Frigg ignored her plea and dove for the commpad.

“No!” Ember yanked it back, holding it over her head as if the harpy couldn’t fly—or just jump particularly well. “What are _you_ gonna say to the Queen!?”

“I’m gonna woo her!” Frigg snapped, rolling her eyes. “I’m the most charming one, out of all of us!”

“In your dreams, feather face—,” Ember was cut short as Rhod grabbed at her arm, yanking it down so hard she nearly lost her grip on the commpad.

“Let me try, let me try!”

“Absolutely not,” Ember shoved him in the chest, knocking him a few feet away only for the lizard to charge back immediately and smashing her into Frigg. “Neither of you are talking to the Queen!!”

“ _You_ aren’t either, dumbass!” Frigg grappled, grabbing Ember’s elbow just as Rhod shoved them both over with his superior weight.

All three collapsed onto the sand in a tussle, halted only by a solid sounding crunch. The ringing had stopped. Blinking, Ember looked up to see her hand somehow emptied, the cracked and sparking commpad tucked soundly beneath their tangled bodies.

“Great,” she growled, glaring at the broken screen. “You guys literally busted our last chance to pay off Gio.”

“And talk to the Queen,” Frigg pouted, her tone colored with genuine sadness.

Rhod snorted, his nostrils flaring as he peered at the commpad. Finally, he pushed himself off the others, rising to his scaly feet. “The way I see it… It’s every bandit for themselves now.”

Frigg and Ember exchanged confused glances just before Rhod snatched up a few potions and the money pouch and scampered off across the sand.

“Rhod!” Ember and Frigg screeched after him, struggling to untangle themselves.

A few thrown elbows later, the two bolted after Rhod, leaving the remains of their stolen goods and the sputtering commpad to burn in the arid Waste.

* * *

The stolen skiff had plenty of supplies and fuel to take the kids far past the border of the Waste. They stopped only to make camp in a small, wooded clearing for a day, figuring they could use the rest and were far enough from danger to afford a break.

The area was small, a tiny creek bed running through some trees and flowery foliage. Willow used the spare time to gather various plants and concoct some healing salves for their cuts and scrapes. It allowed her a moment of true peace, after the stress of the journey, to do something habitual and familiar.

Ash, meanwhile, managed to catch them many fat fish from the creek that they cooked on a tiny fire.

It took Luna a solid hour to make. She was very proud of the tiny crackling spark, however, silently thanking Huntara for spending a grueling twenty-four hours teaching her how.

After they were rested and full, Willow spent a moment scavenging through all the goods stored inside the boxes on the skiff, organizing what she found while Ash and Luna scurried around the clearing in a mock fight.

Ash had insisted Luna use the sword, regardless of danger, because ‘what was the point of sparring with techniques you’re not gonna use?’

The two of them currently circled each other, exchanging measured blows. Mostly Ash just used his superior speed to avoid Luna’s sword combinations so she could practice. She hadn’t gotten much use out of sword fighting since Huntara’s training, but after their run in with the bounty hunters, they all knew fighting would become more necessary as they approached the Fright Zone.

Ash dodged a huge swing, the sword thunking deep into a tree trunk behind him. Luna grunted, struggling to free the heavy blade. She braced a foot against the trunk and tugged when Ash took advantage of her position and tackled her to the ground.

She screeched, leaving the sword behind and turning their roll into a wrestling match.

“Give!” She shouted, shoving her hand into Ash’s face and pinning him to the ground. Ash laughed and battered her with his feet until she was forced to scramble away. They stood apart from each other, bodies braced, Ash’s tail waving with excitement, his pupils round.

The moment reminded Luna of their days growing up together in Bright Moon. Constant play, not a care in the world. It made her miss home for the briefest of moments.

Then Ash pounced, tearing her from her thoughts and smashing her back into the ground.

“You lose,” Ash mused, sitting on her chest until she shouted:

“I Give! Let me up you dumb cat!”

Relenting, Ash rose and helped Luna to her feet in a show of good will. She sighed, accepting his hand and then returning to rip the sword from the poor tree trunk. After a few minutes of struggling, she succeeded, and joined the others near the skiff.

Willow had finished her organizing and gestured Luna over to explain their situation.

“Luna! Look. These boxes had tons of items I think the uh, _original owners,_ were taking to trade or sell. Lots of food,” she pointed to some cheeses Ash was currently consuming. “And some really neat cloths and metals and stuff.” She pointed to another pile of materials Luna figured would have gone for high prices in the Waste. “But best of all, they had a whole chest of gold bits.”

Willow chuckled nervously, opening the lid of a smaller crate to reveal the shine of coins. “Uh… Not like we can _return_ that to them at this point thought so… Maybe we can use that to make travel easier…. If we have to.”

“Sweet!” Luna hopped onto the skiff, walking around to examine Willow’s piles, ignoring the questionable moral complications of spending some stranger’s treasure. “Nice job, Willow.”

Willow tucked her hair behind her ear, blushing. “I just opened boxes.”

“Yeah, but you opened so many good ones!” Ash added with his mouth full.

Willow beamed at her friends, all three more at ease than they had been in days.

They spent the night around their tiny fire, pointing up at the stars and making up their own constellations, laughing to one another about who could come up with the stupidest one.

By the time her friends had fallen asleep, and the fire burned to embers, Luna had turned her gaze to the sword. It glowed softly in the moonlight, the cracks on its surface pulsing ever so slightly with white, blue light. When Luna finally fell asleep, the reflection of her face in the glossy surface of its Runestone followed her into her dreams.

* * *

Glimmer wasn’t sure what to think at first when neither Catra, Adora or Scorpia picked up the call.

Perhaps they hadn’t heard it, or were asleep, or in some sort of immediate danger? She tried not to worry. But when no one called back, and subsequently none of her following calls even connected long enough to sustain a signal… Glimmer felt panicked. She knew it was more than likely the team had simply lost, or broken the commpad, or reached an area the signal just couldn’t pass through. But regardless, as days passed without a single word from the missing search party, the anxiety ate away at Glimmer like a disease.

She contacted Bow and Entrapta, wondering if there was some other way they could reach the group, but without any tech---Bow wasn’t sure where to even start looking for them. And sending a search party to look for their missing search party seemed redundant.

For now, Glimmer had to _trust_ that they were alright.

However, contacting Perfuma to relay the news had only added to Glimmer’s anxiety spiral. Informing her that now not only her daughter, but her _wife_ was also missing---Perfuma hadn’t been happy about the news. And she hadn’t been afraid to show it either.

She’d apologized almost immediately, but the tears flooding her eyes cut Glimmer deeper than any harsh words. Reassuring the Plumerian queen that she’d do her best to track down their missing family, Glimmer had tried her hardest to assuage any panic. But she knew she was unsuccessful.

Frustrated, tired, and afraid—Glimmer abandoned her own room, choosing to spend her restless nights in Luna’s. It was as comforting as it was heartbreaking to spend her now lonely nights in a room filled with memories of her own childhood and that of her daughter’s.

She remembered nights the baby had woken from nightmares with pitiful screams. And how quickly Adora would wake, running so fast she’d somehow make it to the room before Glimmer could even teleport. Some nights, she’d find them both crammed into Luna’s old crib, fast asleep, Luna using Adora as a human sized pillow.

The crib was long gone now, but Glimmer still remembered where it used to rest on the far side of the room. She turned onto her back in Luna’s bed, staring up at the elaborate chandelier that had replaced her hanging bed. Luna had no use for a floating bed, and Glimmer hadn’t wanted to literally dangle the reminder of her lack of powers over her even though they’d thought of keeping the stairs.

At this point, Glimmer wasn’t sure _anything_ they could have done would have helped their daughter. Not that it as her fault. Glimmer couldn’t begin to imagine the worthlessness she felt, try as she might to convince her she was loved regardless. It seemed outward love was not enough for Luna. And nothing Glimmer could give her would heal her from the scars that littered her very heart and soul.

Flipping onto her side, Glimmer tried to push away the swirling thoughts by pulling Kowl closer to her. Micah had made the stuffed creature for her as a baby, and she’d passed it on to Luna—who kept it in her bed even to this day. Glimmer stared down at his stitched face, running her fingers over his missing button eye. Luna had swallowed it as a toddler, leading to much ensuing panic.

In the end, she’d been completely fine, and now Kowl just had another story etched into his very being. Eye burning with tears, Glimmer buried her face in Kowl’s downy body and clutched him as tight as she could, urging sleep to come and give her peace for a few hours.

The following day was a long one.

Glimmer woke feeling ill—a side effect of her waning powers, she knew. But the knowledge did nothing to help her mood as she rose for the day. Brushing her teeth and donning her royal uniform was all she bothered with in terms of preparing. Her hair was disheveled and dull, eyes rimmed with dark, crown smudged from the many times she’d rubbed her hands over her face the past few days.

Forced to walk so as to maintain the slight bit of magic she still had; Glimmer made her way to the war room for her first few meetings.

There, General Aveline, and her second-in-command-in-training Artemis (a rare and nervous magicat), informed her of various reports coming in from villages along the far coast past Salineas. There were many similar pleas from the various towns regarding organized bandit attacks of increased size and frequency.

Glimmer was too tired to make the connection with the information Catra had given them many weeks ago, until Aveline pointed out that the attacks seemed to be coming from the Fright Zone.

“Remnants,” Glimmer muttered to herself, staring at the maps spread across the table.

Aveline and Artemis exchanged slightly befuddled glances.

“Your Majesty?”

Glimmer only then realized she hadn’t informed her guards of the _reason_ for increased patrols around the Castle as Catra has suggested. Failing in her duties as Queen too…

Inhaling to center herself, Glimmer gave the most composed response she could muster. “Catra warned us of an uprising gathering in the Fright Zone. She told me there were signs of them reaching areas around Bright Moon. Now with reports coming in from villages near the area as well as some of the surrounding kingdoms, I think we need to take the possible threat more seriously…”

“Horde Remnants?” Artemis asked, the flick of her tail betraying her anxiety.

“We haven’t found any threats around Bright Moon, Your Highness,” Aveline assured her. “But at your command, we could consider splitting our forces to send aid to these afflicted towns? Cutting the threat off nearer to the source might be—,”

A sudden pound on the war room door drew their attention. Without waiting for an invitation, the door swung open, revealing an exited Micah.

“Glimmer! Sorry to interrupt—,” he was breathless, words disjointed, a bright smile lighting his face. “The Great Hall—There’s—There’s someone here for you.”

All three women in the room blinked at him in confusion, until suddenly, a tiny utterly unrealistic hope took root in Glimmer’s chest. She stood so fast, her chair squeaked on the floor, startling her guards. Gathering the tiny vestiges of energy that were still inside her, Glimmer teleported to the main hall, directly in front of her throne. Slightly dizzy, she gripped the arm for support, and blinked down the dais to see three figures awaiting her.

One was a tall woman with curled horns atop her head, and tattered clothes reminiscent of garbs from the Crimson Waste. The other was short, with a lizard like snout, and red skin. She wore a small knife on her belt and had one of her four hands planted firmly on the shoulder of—

“Luna…?”

Glimmer’s gasp was soft, but somehow seemed to fill the entire Grand Hall.

Her daughter stood between the two figures, untied, but clearly bound by the two that had brought her in. Glimmer hadn’t been sure whether it had been wise to offer the bounty for her return until this moment. Because as strange as it was to see her daughter sandwiched between two ruffians from the Waste, the relief she felt at having Luna back home was insurmountable.

Rushing down the steps, Glimmer practically tackled her daughter in a hug. She pushed the two bounty hunters back with a snap of her wings, then curled them around her and Luna in a protective barrier.

Grateful tears stung her eyes again as she felt Luna’s hands land on her lower back, patting gently.

“Hey mom,” she chuckled.

Glimmer choked at the indifference in her voice, unsure whether to be happy or furious or sad or everything at once. “’ _Hey mom?’_ ” She mimicked, pulling back to look Luna in the eye. “Is that all you have to say for yourself, young lady?!”

She gripped Luna’s cheeks between her palms. “Where have you _been_? Where were you _going?_ Do you even know how much you worried us? Did you _care?_ Your mother is out there, Firsts knows where—looking for you right now, Luna! I can’t believe—,”

“I know, Mom. I know. I’m sorry.” Luna placed her own hands over the one’s Glimmer had on her cheeks and squeezed. “I’m sorry, okay? But! I’m back now! And we can pay these guys their bounty and get Mom back here and forget all about me being an idiot.”

Glimmer paused at the unexpected compliance, her blind relief slowly turning to clarity.

The sword Luna had stolen was nowhere to be found—neither one of the bounty hunters carried it either. Ash and Willow were absent as well, and Glimmer had heard no word from Perfuma, if perhaps these bounty hunters had delivered them separately. Beyond that, Luna seemed far too content at the idea of having been dragged back to the home she’d run away from. Too eager to offer apologies.

Silence stretching, Glimmer searched her daughter’s face, desperate to convince herself that this was real. Uexpected, but real. That Luna was safe and in front of her. Instead, she blinked into a gaze too bright, too full of warmth, an unfamiliar shine—a crooked smile to happy to see her.

Glimmer pushed her away, heartbroken that she _knew_ and recognized her daughter's soul deep grief more than anything else about her.

Luna looked shocked, blue eyes widening. “Mom I—,”

“You’re not Luna.”

Glimmer’s voice was cold as she took a step back, her wings once protective, now flaring out to an intimidating length.

At the other end of the grand hall, Micah, Aveline and Artemis shoved open the doors just in time to see Glimmer hurl a blast of magic at the feet of the bounty hunters.

“I don’t know who any of you are!” she shouted, her voice echoing around the grand hall. “But if you don’t get out this instant, I’ll send you out in pieces myself.”

“Glimmer!” Micah shouted, obviously confused to see his daughter hurling magic at strangers.

Aveline and Artemis made no move to stop the Queen but looked utterly distraught by the situation. The bounty hunters were terrified, scrambled by Glimmer’s attacks and seemingly unsure where to go. The faux-Luna still stood before Glimmer though, unphased, a bemused smirk on her lips.

Glimmer stalked up to the imposter, magic fizzling out even though her fury rose. It would be impossible to hurt even a visage of her daughter.

“Who are you?” she snarled instead; trembling fists clenched at her sides.

The faux Luna fully grinned now, rolling her eyes into a shade of yellow with slit pupils. “I’m honestly a little offended you didn’t recognize me.”

Glimmer stepped back, flinching as Luna’s façade melted into a familiar lithe green figure.

“Double Trouble…,” she muttered. “You’re right, I should have known.”

“It’s been too long, Your Majesty!” Double Trouble gave her a toothy smile. “How was my work? I think I had you going for at least a minute there. That was a truly motherly embrace if I’ve ever felt one.”

Glimmer glared up at them, eyes blazing furiously. “Did you really think you could come into my home, impersonate my missing daughter and make away with a reward? Was that your plan?”

“Well, when you phrase it like that you make it sound cruel,” Double Trouble practically pouted at the accusation. “I’m surprised I’m the first one that’s tried to take advantage of your generous offer, Your Highness. One hundred thousand bits is quite an offer for a few lost kids.”

Glimmer closed her eyes, trying to focus her fury into a quenchable ball, and not blast a hole through the Alliance’s once questionable ally. “You and your ‘friends’ have exactly one minute to get out of my sight. After that, you’d better be far, _far_ away from Bright Moon. Don’t even think about coming back.”

Double Trouble scoffed, planting a hand on their hip. “You’re being a little dramatic, Darling. If anything you should consider this an audition. I might be persuaded to help you get your daughter back, for the right price. No one knows the darkest corners of Etheria better than me.”

“If I could trust you to do that! You wouldn’t have tried this stupid trick in the first place!” Glimmer felt her magic swell, anger fueling it in a rare burst. “Get out!”

Double Trouble opened their mouth to speak again, but Glimmer was done with their game. She snapped her wings out again, the gust knocking them off the dais. As the bandits scrambled forward to help their leader up, Glimmer channeled her magic into spheres, blasting two down on either side of the group. It left smoking black spots in the pristine marble floor.

Micah shouted, the bandits yelped, and scurried and Double Trouble drawled some fleeting insult Glimmer couldn’t hear through the ringing in her ears as all three hurried out of the main hall.

A firm hand on Glimmer’s shoulder snapped her back to reality, the anger quickly fading into terrible grief that made her knees shake. Micah stood beside her now, his eyes pained and filled with guilt.

“Angel, I’m so sorry…. I thought….,” He dropped his greying chin to his chest, and Glimmer could _feel_ the guilt wafting off him. Shaking her head, Glimmer placed her hand over his.

“You didn’t know.”

“I should have,” he murmured meeting her tearful gaze.

“I should have too.”

Aveline and Artemis stood at the bottom of the stairs, faces twisted with concern.

“Should we … Go after them, Your Majesty?” Artemis suggested, clearly lost as to what to offer.

“No,” Glimmer’s wings drooped. “No, let them go. Just make sure they don’t find a way back into Bright Moon. Please.”

Glimmer tried not to think of what it had felt like to be… _okay_. For just a moment, she’d been convinced her daughter was back in her arms, safe and happy, and that they could all fix things.

But the emptiness followed her to bed that night, eating away at her heart as she clutched Kowl to her chest again and cried.

* * *

The night in the tiny canyon was warm at least, if not incredibly painful. Adora’s entire body was stiff and sore the next morning, from spending the entire night curled on hard ground. After a moment taken to splint her sprained ankle with a cut strip of Catra’s scarf, the three began to look for a way out.

Melog reappeared in the early morning, staring down at the three women from the top of the ravine, their tail swaying back and forth.

They’d been separated from the large cat during the brief squabble with the bandits, but Melog appeared to have fared perfectly well on their own during the night, and now blinked down at them curiously.

“There you are! You gonna help or just stand there?” Catra hollered up at the cat. Melog’s tail swished, head turning to gaze down the ravine. Rising to their paws, Melog turned around and disappeared.

“Wait, I’m sorry! Melog!” Catra’ voice echoed through the ravine. “Hey! Come back!”

Adora snorted, taking a seat on the rocky ground again as she rattled her exhausted brain for what to do next.

“Y’know,” Scorpia was tapping at the weak cliffside, her pincers creating tiny bits of shoal slide. “ _Maybe_ we could try climbing again. If I go first, make some hand holds for you guys with my claws here—!” She snipped her pincers to clarify. “We could edge our way up the wall.”

“We could _what_?” Catra’s nose wrinkled.

“Edge!” Scorpia clawed out a tiny hole in the wall. She glanced excitedly between the confused Catra and flustered Adora. “You guys don’t remember? It was Outdoor Exploration 101. When there are no natural footholds in a wall you gotta use the _tips_ of your toes to climb.”

Shaking off the misunderstanding, Catra rolled her eyes. “That might work if Adora was capable of subtlety right now. Or ever, really. But her foot is dead weight.”

Adora wanted to object, but she knew without the full range of motion of her ankle, precariously climbing the wall was a bad idea. So she just shrugged in agreement.

Scorpia tapped her chin. “Good point… Well then, maybe—,”

Just then the three women heard the distant ring of voices. At once, they leapt to their feet, shouting for help as loud as they could, hoping that whoever was passing by could find some way to get them out.

Melog peered over the edge of the ravine again and then a moment later two lizard men joined the cat on either side. They were short and compact, clearly muscled, their dark reddish hides weathered by the Crimson Waste’s sun. They glared down at the trapped group with yellow eyes, squinting even under the wide brims of their hats.

“So this is what you were yowlin’ about,” one of the men said, snorting and then spitting a ball of saliva at the ground. “Yer owners got themselves stuck in a hole, huh?”

Melog blinked, tail swishing in what looked suspiciously like amusement.

“Tourists,” the other lizard scoffed in a deep and gravelly tone. “Lucky fer you three, we got some extra ropes on the skiff today. Don’t go nowhere.”

Catra, Adora and Scorpia exchanged confused glances as the men disappeared and then returned a few moments later with large thick ropes.

“Don’t ruin these when you climb up!” the shorter man shouted as Scorpia approached the rope with her pincers. “We’re usin’ these to wrangle Deathstalkers today.”

“What’s a Deathstalker?” Scorpia whispered.

“Not sure I want to find out,” Catra murmured back. She glanced at Scorpia’s claws, then gestured for Adora to help her tie one of the ropes around the scorpioni’s waist.

“We’ll go up first,” Catra explained. “And once we’re up, use your pincers as leverage in the wall and we’ll help pull you up. Alright?”

Scorpia gave a determined nod, clutching her pincers to her chest as Adora and Catra started up the wall. The lizard men held the ropes firm, but it was slow going with Adora’s injured ankle. By the time they reached the top of the ravine, and rescued Scorpia as well, the party was exhausted, and it felt as if half the day had already slipped away.

Melog purred happily, winding circles around Catra’s legs. Their two rescuers grunted to themselves as they wrapped up their ropes and stored them on their laden down skiff.

“Thank you,” Adora took it upon herself to address their rescuers. “We wouldn’t have gotten out of there without you.” Melog grumbled, pushing their head into Adora’s palm. “And _you.”_

The two men snorted, the shorter one chuckling and shaking his head. “You sure wouldn’t have. Surprised none of the Rock Hoppers got you three durin’ the night. They like to nibble on dumb animals that fall into their territory.”

“Dumb—,” Adora’s cheeks flushed. “Hey, you don’t have to be _rude._ We’re _thanking you_.”

“Yer welcome,” the lizard said. “Now get out of the Waste before you trip over a cactus and get swallowed up in a quicksand pit.”

Catra’s ears were pulled back, annoyed. “’Get out’, okay, yeah. Wanna at least give us a direction, oh noble rescuers?”

“Not our job to help every empty headed, unprepared traveler that tracks their dirty paws all over the Waste,” the lizard shot back. He was much shorter than Catra, but he stretched up as he approached her, his nostrils flaring. “Yer lucky we even bothered followin’ that cat of yers, Missy. Zur takes orders from no one.”

“Not even your Queen?” Adora shot back, drawing herself up to look as impressive as she could considering yesterday’s damage.

Zur blinked at her, looking genuinely confused. “Queen of what? … Ruz, did you know the Crimson Waste has a Queen?”

The other lizard, Ruz, shrugged, a single fang poking out between his lips. “First I heard of it. I didn’t vote for her.”

“You—That’s not—,” Adora spluttered, face flushing hot underneath the already burning sun. “Queen of Etheria! Er… One of them. I’m—My wife is…The…”

“ _She’s_ the extra one,” Catra deadpanned, earning a punch in the arm from Adora.

Ruz and Zur stared at them both with yellow unblinking eyes as Catra hissed and shoved Adora back so hard she nearly tripped over Melog and into the ravine again.

“Anyway!” Scorpia interrupted, clapped her claws together. “Look, fellas, we _really_ appreciate you taking the time out of your _clearly busy_ monster hunting schedule to help us out! Would you mind… Maybe, giving us silly tourists a ride out of the Waste on your beautiful skiff there? It sure would be a bummer if… You know… We just fell into _another_ hole… Right after you rescued us from this one.”

Ruz and Zur laughed, the latter even cracking a toothy grin at Scorpia.

“Claws has got a point. C’mon Zur. Let’s get these clods outta here. Can’t risk anything happenin’ to Etheria’s _extra_ Queen.”

Zur and Ruz chuckled to themselves as they led the way to the skiff, leaving Adora to pout after them.

“I’m _also_ She-Ra,” she grumbled mostly to herself. Catra looked just as amused as their rescuers at Adora’s frustration.

It was a bit of a tight squeeze with all the cargo the men had stored on their skiff; but once everyone was settled, Melog sat at the front with Ruz and Zur, the skiff took off over the sands.

“So what were you three even doin’ out here in the first place? Takes a special kind of stupid to travel the Waste unprepared,” Zur said matter-of-factly, facing the group as Ruz piloted.

The women exchanged silent glances before deciding to reveal their mission.

“We’re looking for some missing kids,” Catra explained. “Last we heard they came this way.”

“Missing kids?” Zur clicked his tongue. “You’d be lucky if they made it very far.”

“They did!” Scorpia assured him, anxiety coloring her tone. “We found a couple bounty hunters who saw them too! In fact, they were the reason we fell into the ravine in the first place.”

“Bounty hunters…,” Ruz muttered gruffly from the steering wheel. “Yeah, we saw those fools too. Runnin’ around in the sands like morons, chasin’ each other into Deathstalker territory.”

The trio balked, realizing their enemies might soon be permanently lost to the dangers of the Waste.

“You know these kids a’ yours then?” Ruz continued. “Or are you three just noble souls on a mission?”

“They’re ours,” Scorpia explained, her eyes dropping to her lap. “They ran away from home.”

“Ran all the way to the Waste?” Zur sounded shocked. “You three must be awful parents.”

He broke into snorting laughter, but the reality of his words was grounding. The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence.

At the edge of the Waste, Ruz and Zur were generous enough to offer them some supplies before turning back into the sands.

“Good luck on yer mission, clods. Especially you, Miss Extra Queen of Etheria—,”

The teasing farewell turned into a distant echo as the skiff roared away, leaving Catra, Scorpia and Adora to their own devices once again.

Melog and Catra scouted ahead, looking for signs of the kids’ trail. There was nothing they could find, but it was getting late in the afternoon anyway, and after a brief debate, they agreed to set up camp for the night and try again tomorrow.

As Adora and Scorpia set up a campfire, sleeping rolls and some light provisions—Adora tried to keep her mind off all the dangerous creatures Ruz and Zur had named off. She knew that _they_ had been lucky to escape the Waste alive. But now she could only _hope_ the kids had as well.

She didn’t want to _think_ about how horrible it would be to continue on, only to realize later their children were still lost in the Waste… Possibly nothing more than corpses.

Shuddering, Adora focused on divvying out water rations, while Scorpia chopped up a few pieces of dried meat. Everything was ready by the time Catra and Melog returned and the four sat together, eating and recharging their energy.

As night fell, and they watched the fire crackle in silence, it was Scorpia who finally said what they’d all been thinking.

“Do you think they’re all still out there?” her voice was quiet as a prayer. “Ahead of us, I mean… Are they—…”? She trailed off, unable to form the words. “I _want_ them to be… I think they are, maybe…. They have each other. Me and ‘Fuma help Willow train with her powers every day. She’s strong and she knows how to handle her power. They’re a team! They always have been. Those three… They’ve got each other.”

Warmth bloomed in Adora’s chest at the truth in Scorpia’s words. It reminded her of her own past, dependent on the support of Bow and Glimmer during their adventures.

“I think they’re alright,” she agreed, ignoring the part of her that was still unsure. “Luna is too stubborn to let _anything_ stop her when she’s set her mind on something. Yeah… They’re ok.”

Catra was watching the flames, a wrinkle forming in her brow. “Ash knows what he’s doing out here. From the beginning, when it was just me and him, I made sure to teach him what he would need to know to survive if he ended up alone.”

Her tone was more solemn than the others. Less hopeful, and more melancholy. As if she were trying to _convince_ herself of what she claimed to be absolutely true. Melog slumped beside her, betraying Catra’s true concern as they curled around her feet, tail drooping.

“You okay, Wildcat?” Scorpia prodded gently.

Catra nodded, but her gaze was unfocused, the firelight reflecting in her eyes. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Adora pushed as well, realizing that Catra was struggling with something deeper than she was letting on.

For a while, Catra didn’t answer, seemingly struggling with how much to tell them until finally she sighed and curled around herself, drawing her knees up to her chin.

“About the day I found him.”

* * *

** 19 years ago… **

Leaving Bright Moon after the war was the best decision Catra knew she could have made for herself.

At times it was lonely, even with Melog by her side. But she’d grown accustomed to the hollow sting of solitude in the many years since her life had changed the day Adora found a sword in the woods.

Despite everything, it had been an easy choice to make. Although the Princesses had been willing to try again, even Mermista, who Catra thought maybe would want her strung up by her tail on the Sea Gate—and Catra knew she would have every right. But they were good people, all of them, at the end of the day. With more love in their hearts than Catra had in her entire body.

For a while, she’d considered staying. Forcing herself to ignore the odd sideways glances from guards, or backhanded jokes that stung just a bit too much, or the waves of guilt that rolled over her from simply _looking_ at Scorpia and Entrapta’s smiling faces.

In the end, she’d left not only for their sakes… But for hers. Leaving would allow her to find the self she’d buried under years of denial and desire. Under the brainwashing and torture of a childhood shaped by the Horde and Shadow Weaver.

She’d said goodbye at the Bright Moon gates, receiving various degrees of affection from the assembled crowd. Scorpia had cried and told her she was proud—Catra still kept the words close to her heart. Glimmer hadn’t said much, but the look in her eye spoke volumes. Catra knew she didn’t need to explain her decision to Glimmer; she wasn’t sure there was anyone on Etheria who understood her better than the sparkly Queen.

Adora had been the strangest one to say goodbye to.

It was brief, and hard, confusing, and Catra knew she wouldn’t be able to articulate everything she wanted to no matter how hard she might try. So she simply made a new promise.

Once she learned to love herself, she would return to Bright Moon and strive to regain the friendship she’d thought she deserved for so long.

She left Adora behind, side-by-side with Glimmer, their fingers tangled together as they watched her go. The sight made her heart twist—but not quite in the way she’d expected.

‘Melancholy’, was the word she decided on. They would take care of each other, while Catra found her own way.

Almost two years had passed since that quiet morning and Catra still hadn’t returned to Bright Moon.

Despite the sometimes bitter and lonely nights, she knew there was more work to do.

Rebuilding after the war was painstaking. Catra had done work in the Waste at first, helping Huntara quell the violence and infighting there before moving onto Salineas for a bit to help rebuild the very lives she’d destroyed. Mermista wasn’t around often, which Catra was grateful for. The citizens of Salineas were cordial, but not friendly. Catra kept mostly to herself, diligently doing her part to help rebuild while not expecting anything more from the people she’d harmed.

After a few months, she and Melog journeyed to smaller towns and secluded villages, helping people far away from the kingdoms recover from the carnage she’d helped bring to the planet. Catra made it a personal goal to help many orphans or lost families she found along the way, knowing firsthand what it felt like to be without love and security in a cold universe.

A year into their travels, Melog and Catra ran into small pockets of magicats scattered across the planet. Some lived in distant and misty mountain caves, unwilling to interact with an outsider, regardless of their shared heritage.

Others she found hidden in caves, tiny cities built into cliffsides, kept away from the rest of the world. Only a few times did she see scattered groups of magicats that traveled or built their homes in the open. From what Catra was able to learn from those that were willing to speak with her, when Hordak first arrived on Etheria, his initial targets had been the expansive magicat population that fought back against him.

What began as one of the most powerful races on Etheria, had shrunk to pockets of survivors. Too fearful to find each other, too bitter with the rest of the planet to ask for help.

It tore at Catra’s heart to see the very race she came from, living in the same bitterness she’d kept herself in for so long.

Sometimes they offered her a place in their towns.

Others she ran into on travels, asked if she’d like to join their groups.

Catra always turned them down.

They looked like her, but she was not one of them.

Another year passed before Catra began shifting her attention to the rise in bandit activity. With the war over and the Princesses restoring trade routes between kingdoms and all over the planet, bounty hunting and bandit activity began to flourish.

The galactic war had ended, but rebuilding a planet meant that many with greedy hearts would take advantage. Catra knew that all too well.

Following reports of an attack on a tiny magicat group was how Catra stumbled across the raided village that changed her life.

She and Melog were too late. Almost all of the houses were burned to ash. It floated through the air, like grey snow.

Personal belongings were strewn along the ground, clothes torn, tiny toys broken. Everything was destroyed. She and Melog stood in the ghost of a home they could not save.

Still, Catra forced herself through the wreckage, wondering if maybe there was something she could find to keep. An item, a permanent reminder that many lives had once flourished here.

Melog sniffed through the debris, their tail suddenly stiffening as they nudged at a few collapsed boards. Catra was about to pull them away when she heard a quiet hiss. Ears swiveling, Catra froze, waiting. Melog prodded again and a squeaky yowl emanated from the boards.

Something was still alive.

Dropping to her knees, Catra crept towards the board, peering into the dark to see two tiny yellow orbs staring back at her. Melog growled beside her, agitated, and the eyes narrowed, hissing again.

“Hey,” Catra murmured into the darkness, with as much gentleness as she could muster. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

The eyes grew round and fearful, shrinking away slightly. Catra sighed, knowing the creature wasn’t going to come out soon, but also realizing that they couldn’t afford to wait. It was possible that whoever had raided the town was still nearby. Jerking her chin to Melog, who prowled around to the other side of the rubble, Catra braced herself and slipped her arm into the darkness.

Sure enough, a hiss and a sharp bite slammed down on her palm, but Catra held firm. She grimaced and snatched, claws latching around a warm fuzzy writhing bundle.

She tugged, pulling the spitting furious creature out in a whoosh and holding it up to the daylight.

A baby magicat squirmed furiously in her clutch. Clawed hands swiping, tiny tail bristled, teeth bared. His eyes were wide and afraid, but everything else about him screamed _fight_.

“Easy!” she choked out as he bit down on her hand _again_ , her palm now a bleeding mess. “Hey, will you relax you little furball! I’m _helping_ you.”

The kitten spat at her and then went still, curling into a puffed-up ball, quivering as she held him by his scruff.

Melog trotted up, reaching to sniff the magicat baby, who jerked and then looked down at the large cat. His yellow eyes snapped wide and he mewled excitedly, reaching for Melog. Catra lowered the tiny brown striped kitten, placing him beside Melog. He sniffed, Melog sniffed, and then the baby scrambled up onto Melog’s back and stuck like a bramble.

Huffing, Catra wrapped her scarf around her injured hand for the time being and took final stock of the town. It was empty. Any parents or family this magicat may have had were gone, or part of the ashes that surrounded them.

“Alright, Melog,” Catra spoke into the utter stillness. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll head south again and find this little guy a new home.”

Melog blinked in response, following her measuredly out of the carnage, the baby still clinging to their back.

The first night the baby refused to eat anything Catra offered him, although she tried all the provisions they had. Cheese, dried meat, fruits. He was interested in nothing but hiding in the curve of Melog’s body. Melog didn’t seem to mind, swiping their tail and licking the kitten’s hair into spiky points.

“What do we call this guy?” Catra asked Melog as they watched him sleep by the light of the fire. “He can’t just be … kid.”

Melog tilted their head, nosing the magicat baby awake. He blinked at them, wrinkled his nose and sneezed, a puff of the white ash he’d been buried in floating off him in waves.

Catra sighed, mind drawn to the quiet scene of the devastated home they’d found him in.

“How about Ash? What do you think of that little guy?”

Ash ignored her, curling into a ball, tail tucked over his nose as he hid in Melog’s fur once again. Melog looked up at Catra in a slow blink and Catra chuckled.

“Yeah, I think he likes it too.”

The next few days of travel saw the magicat child come out of his shell. He was extremely curious as time passed, less inclined to simply ride on Melog’s back and instead follow on foot, scrambling up trees and into bushes and around rocks and creeks.

Catra found herself counting how many miniature heart attacks she had each time he disappeared, only to burst out of some other tree or bush, his pupils blown as he play-stalked them like a tiny predator. He took to trees eventually, dropping down from random branches, landing on Melog’s haunches or Catra’s head and startling them both out of their minds.

It was clearly a game though, the excitement rolling off him in waves even though he remained silent.

Catra wasn’t sure when regular babies spoke, let alone magicat ones. Although she’d been a child herself once, Shadow Weaver hadn’t exactly been a ‘baby’s first words’ kind of parent. Not that it mattered with Ash. She and Melog and the child could all effectively communicate with one another with ears and tails.

Ash’s ears were large, bigger than his head, and they swiveled constantly as he took in the new world around him. It made Catra’s chest bloom with warmth she’d never felt to watch him explore and learn and even make mistakes.

She’d laughed out loud the first time he’d fallen headfirst into a creek chasing a fish. Not because it was amusing to see him fail, but because of the joy it brought her to watch his naivety in action. He scurried back over to her, shaking water droplets onto her as well out of spite.

Once they were dry, she’d patiently taken him back to the creek and showed him the best technique for fish catching without falling in. Ash was a fast learner. He caught his first fish a week into their journey together. It was half the size of him, and he stood by watching with round eyes as Catra cooked it, his little hands on her shoulder the whole time.

That night was the first time Catra woke to feel him curled against her back.

He’d migrated away from Melog and instead pressed himself to Catra’s back, his tail flopping over her shoulder and whacking her cheek.

Catra’s chest cracked open at the contact and for reasons she could not put into words, she cried. Tears slipped quickly and quietly down her cheeks as the innocent little life put himself faithfully in her hands. If only he knew what else those hands had ever been capable of.

If he knew would he care? Would he even understand?

Catra never needed another reason not to hurt anyone else. But she renewed her vow that night. Ash would know her for the person she wanted to be, and not the one she had been.

Another week passed as they traveled back to a cliffside magicat village Catra knew would take him in. She slowed as they neared, heart aching at the thought of losing their new companion. The years without anyone to really call a ‘friend’ were hard. Necessary, she knew. But hard.

Without even seeing the faces or hearing the voices of her old friends, having the bundle of energy that was Ash in her life now, was like having her own personal sun. In a way, her entire day orbited around him now. Teaching him how to stalk birds, scale his own fish, whittle wooden carving knives.

She tried to push it aside though, knowing it would be safer and better for him to live with a community of his own kind. Subjecting him to her own lonely life would be cruel.

Their last night before approaching the town was one Catra would never forget.

She followed Ash into a tall tree, Melog standing guard at the bottom. The magicat scurried out along the longest branch, gazing up at the stars in wonder, his tail waving excitedly.

“Those didn’t used to be here, yknow?” Catra called out to him from where she sat on the same branch, but closer to the trunk.

Ash looked back at her, ever silent, before studying the stars again.

“I helped put them up there though. Kinda… In a weird way.” Catra looked up at them too, painful memories swirling through her like a tiny hurricane. She avoided her past more than she ruminated on it.

It was easier to just try to move forward rather than untangle all the memories and bad choices that had brought her to this moment.

Closing her eyes, Catra lifted her hands, running them through her hair in a soothing ritual. In two years, it had grown. Still not as long as it used to be. But at least now she didn’t see a physical reminder of the autonomy Horde Prime had stripped away from her when she looked at her reflection.

When she opened her eyes, Ash’s yellow ones blinked up into hers curiously. He sat in front of her, and then raised his tiny hand, slowly placing it on Catra’s head.

She froze as his little claws caught slightly in her coarse hair. With his other hand, he took on of hers and put it on his head, blinking and then mussing her bangs with ungraceful baby hands.

Smiling a genuine smile, Catra did the same to his short dark hair. Ash purred, stretching his neck and then turned around and flopped against her, his back pressed to her stomach as they watched the stars together. Catra fell asleep like that. Tail curled around both of them, the sound of Ash’s tiny purrs warming her heart.

The next morning they arrived at the village.

The magicats recognized Catra and welcomed her in, confused but excited to see the tiny newcomer as well.

“Catra, welcome back. Who’s this?” one of them asked as they all gathered at the edge of town to peer at the shy child.

Catra wanted the goodbye to be quick and painless, although she knew they’d offer to let her stay for the day. She looked down at Ash who clung to her calf, his claws almost painful through her pants. Debating for a moment, about whether to give them the name she’d chosen for the child, Catra decided the least she could leave him with was an identity beyond ‘orphan’.

“His name is Ash,” she explained. “I found him all alone. His town was raided. He needs a place to stay… A home. I thought maybe you---Could—,”

Catra trailed off as a few of the magicats nodded. “Of course, we’ll look out for him. Too many of us are targeted. We need to look out for each other whenever we can.”

Catra nodded, the burning lump in her throat almost choking.

“You are welcome to stay as well, you know?” a tabby magicat said, their green eyes sad. “Magicat aren’t meant to be alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Catra insisted, taking a step back. “I’ve got Melog.”

The magicats shifted, unconvinced, but Catra ignored them, kneeling to address Ash. He looked at her with round fearful eyes, large ears perking as she spoke.

“You’re gonna go with them, okay, Ash? This is home now.” Ash stared at her, silent. Catra forced the burning tears down and continued. “You listen to what they say. And be good. Grow up and be good and live a good life. Okay?”

Again, Ash said nothing. He searched her face, eyes growing wider as Catra pushed him towards the group of magicats. One of them took Ash’s hand and he looked around bewildered, as if he only now realized he was being left behind.

Catra didn’t want to hurt him, she knew he’d think he was being abandoned. But staying with her wasn’t what was best for him.

And Catra was done making selfish decisions.

Slowly, she rose, Melog at her side, their ears plastered sadly against their head.

“Thanks,” she said to the magicats, who nodded solemnly. Catra reached out, ruffling Ash’s ears and then turned, tearing herself away from the interaction before it could cut any deeper.

She didn’t get far.

As she left, Ash yowled and hissed while the other magicats struggled to keep him in place. Catra squeezed her eyes shut and walked faster, struggling not to break into a run just to be farther away faster. But suddenly there was a shout and a scuff of dirt and rock and a furry ball slammed into her legs.

Turning around, Catra saw Ash clinging to her calves. Before she could crouch, Ash scrambled up her body like a tree, until he was situated in her arms, his claws digging into her shirt so tightly she could feel them against her skin.

“Ash…,” his name was a choked sob. “C’mon. Please, you have to—,”

Ash looked at her with round solemn eyes that were full of a pain Catra found both familiar and distant.

He shook his head, opened his mouth, gripped her tight and for the first time, spoke.

“Stay.”

Catra stared at the little magicat, the world falling away around her. Without words to unravel what the simple request set off inside of her, Catra squeezed her eyes shut to block it all out.

Ash placed his palms on her cheeks until she opened them again, hot tears running down her skin and through his little fingers.

Ash’s ears flicked, his tail waving as he asked for a silent response.

Wiping her runny nose on her shoulder, Catra smiled through her tears and nodded.

“Okay.” Ash’s purr filled her ears. “Okay, Ash. We stay together.”

That night, Catra pulled out the dusty commpad from her bag. Glimmer had given it to her, insisting she take it in case she ever needed help on her journey. For two years it had rested at the bottom of her travel pack, gathering dust.

Now, as Ash and Melog slept, both curled on either side of her, Catra turned the commpad on.

The seal of Bright Moon appeared on screen, and after just a moment’s hesitation, she pressed ‘call.’

The ringing was dull, blending with the chirp of the crickets. Ash’s ears twitched but he did not wake.

Catra smiled down at him as she waited, placing her hand atop his head. He leaned into her touch in his sleep, purring just a bit louder.

Suddenly the ringing stopped and the screen blinked to life.

“Catra?”

Stroking Ash’s cheek with her thumb, Catra returned her gaze to the screen, a sense of peace that she hadn’t felt in years _finally_ washing over her.

“Hey, Adora.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk who i am anymore writing about Catra tbh... Lemme know if you enjoyed it!


	11. Mutiny on the High Seas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewo O_O not much to say but I hope ya'll enjoy, I really truly appreciate any thoughts you have to leave, thank you!

“Adora! Transform!”

Catra’s yowl echoed around their tiny campsite, but it was quickly drowned out by the roar of the two deathstalkers currently trying to kill them.

Adora made a mental note to never make camp this close to the edge of the Crimson Waste again before shouting back, “I can’t!”

Catra leapt out of the way of one of the Deathstalker’s swipes—its claws gouging the earth instead. “Why not?! I thought we, y’know—,” she paused to slash at the beast’s palm with her sword. “—fixed your depression!”

“That’s not how it works, Catra!” Adora rolled out of the way of a giant swinging tail, glancing desperately around the camp for anything to use as a weapon.

“Is it not?” Scorpia asked from the other side of the battlefield, her tone genuinely curious. “Every time I saw your friends cheer you up back then, uh, during the war—She-Ra got a big AH!—,” Scorpia caught a Deathstalker paw in her pincer, straining as he pushed back against its massive body. “— _power boost!”_

“I mean, yeah!” Adora stood, eyes scanning the few scattered trees around the edge of their camp. “But I’m _still_ sad!”

Catra let out an agonized groan, rolling eyes as hard as she possibly could before lunging for one of the creature’s calves, slashing with her sword. She rolled through its legs, leaving a bright red wound in her wake. The Deathstalker roared, stumbling into its partner.

“Maybe our next teambuilding adventure can be figuring out how to untether She-Ra from your emotional ass,” Catra shouted over the wail of the beasts.

Adora ignored her, scrambling for the nearest tree trunk and scaling the limbs as quickly as she could.

Below her, Scorpia and Catra continued battering at the two Deathstalkers with swords and red flashes of lightning magic. Carefully, Adora crept out onto one of the longest limbs. Not quite sure her plan would work; she didn’t get time to prepare as a Deathstalker stumbled into the trunk of her tree and the limb snapped beneath her feet.

Shouting, Adora landed with a thud directly on the massive beast’s snout, its fierce red eyes crossing to look at her.

A wheezed chuckle escaped Adora’s lips just as the creature raised its clawed hand to smack her off its snout. Instinctively, Adora rolled and dropped seven feet to the ground, the Deathstalker succeeding in smacking itself unconscious.

Rolling as she hit the grass, Adora managed to avoid the brunt of the fall, and popped back up to see her companions blinking at her, just as astonished.

“What?” Adora shrugged.

Catra sputtered, “Was that your plan?”

“No, but I was improvising.”

Scorpia clapped her pincers together. “Thinking on your toes, I like it!”

Adora grinned. “Yeah, I—Look out!”

All three scattered just as the other Deathstalker swiped its enormous tail at them.

They managed to dodge out of the way, but the beast was in berserk mode now, angry for its fallen partner. It swung its deadly claws wide, nearly catching Melog who leapt away just in time, hissing.

Catra shouted and ran to the big cat’s side, gathering the Deathstalkers attention. It roared and turned towards them.

Adora grit her teeth, her entire body taught as she begged She-Ra’s magic to come forward. It did not, and without any other weapon she was useless. Still, she ran, her feet moving on their own. Shouting, she hurled herself into the back of the beast’s knee with all her might.

She must have felt about as hefty as a fly, but the creature turned away from Catra and Melog, its burning eyes landing on her. With one heavy stomp it knocked her off its leg and onto the ground. The air left her lungs in a wheeze, dark spots dancing in front of her eyes.

When her vision cleared, she saw the beast raising its claw high above its head, preparing to bring it down. Before she could gather enough energy to move, there was a loud shout follow by and _clang_ and a long shadow fell over Adora.

Daring to open her eyes, Adora saw Scorpia was standing above her, her pincers braced over her head in a cross guard. She’d caught the beasts claws and was locked in a battle of pure strength as it bore down on her.

More than grateful, but realizing Scorpia’s strength was far from limitless, Adora called out, “Catra, now!”

Moving like a streak of brown lightning, Catra brandished her swords and dashed across the battlefield. The creature screeched and buckled as her blades slashed through the back of its calves. For just a moment, it was weakened, and the pressure on Scorpia was lifted. In the next instant, her body lit up in red and white lances of lightning.

The creature roared in defiance. But Scorpia gripped its claws tight and released a shockwave that enveloped the beast’s entire enormous body.

The sound of lighting and roaring was deafening and then, suddenly, it sizzled into silence. The beast’s eyes dimmed, and it crashed to the ground, body smoking.

Stepping away from the defeated creature, Scorpia steadied and then reached down to offer Adora a claw.

“Everyone ok?”

Adora nodded, gratefully accepting Scorpia’s help. Catra moved to join then after prodding the creature with her swords to make sure it wouldn’t get back up.

“Close one,” she mused, sheathing her swords after wiping Deathstalker gore off on the grass.

“Yeah, let’s not run into any more of those please,” Scorpia agreed, patting Melog gently on the head when they rubbed against her leg in thanks.

“Once we get to the next town, we should see if we can find something for me to fight with,” Adora suggested, gathering their things that hadn’t been smashed by the raging creatures. “I can’t be useless if we run into something more dangerous. And I can’t depend on She-Ra to come back exactly when I might need her.”

“Good plan,” Catra agreed, although her grimace gave away her shared frustration at the lack of She-Ra.

“We should probably get moving,” Scorpia took a few bags from Adora and shouldered them. “The farther we get away from the Waste, the better.”

Adora and Catra let her lead the way, falling into step with Melog taking up the rear. As they walked, Adora tried not to think how close they’d just come to dying. And how they still had no idea where the kids were right now.

They were alive for the moment.

And the small victories were something to be celebrated…

* * *

Their stolen skiff took the kids all the way to the coast, to a small port town called Seaworthy.

And unfortunately, the entire population was privy to the trios bickering as they struggled to maneuver the skiff into a free space in the vehicle lot.

“You’re good!” Luna called from the stern, gesturing vaguely as Ash tried to pilot the skiff backwards. “Keep going, keep going—,”

Ash hit the acceleration lever a bit too hard and the skiff lurched, knocking slightly into the one beside them. A loud screech filled the trio’s ears as the skiffs sides dragged together.

Another lurch threw them off balance as Ash slammed on the braking mechanism and then all was still. Only a small tendril of grey smoke rising from their port side.

“Hm,” Luna glanced over the side, studying the damage and then waving her hand. “We’re good!”

“Speak for yourself,” Ash grumbled, peering at his left hand where one of his claws had cracked. Biting the tip of the nail off, Ash tossed it onto the deck of the skiff before helping the girls gather all the supplies they could carry with them from here on out.

They wouldn’t need the skiff anymore—a boat was necessary to get to the Fright Zone from here.

Together, the kids filled a knapsack with some money, food, and cloaked themselves in the fabrics they’d found to avoid detection in the port.

Luna also made sure to keep the sword hidden on her back using the cloths as a makeshift sheath. She knew nothing about Seaworthy beyond the fact that a port would draw different kinds of people from all across Etheria. Anyone could be looking for them. Especially if they’d already nearly been caught in the Waste.

Together they made their way to a large billboard near the entrance of town. It stood at the top of a large branching wooden staircase that would take them down to other buildings beside the docks. But from here, they could compare the map on the board to a clear view of the entire port.

As Willow and Luna scoured over the map, Ash peered out at the view of the sea.

“We can make it to the Fright Zone easy by boat from here,” he said, turning back to his companions.

“But we need a boat first,” Willow sighed, forehead thunking against the map board.

Abandoning the confusing map, Luna instead stepped out onto the overlook where Ash had been, scanning the boats docked in the harbor.

“How about that one?” she pointed to a large, magnificent white ship, its rainbow tinted mainsail rising high into the sky.

“Okay, look, Luna,” Ash raised his hands. “I was okay with taking a tiny skiff. But a whole _ship?!_ How would we even _steal_ that. And! If we _did!_ How would we _sail_ it!”

“ _We_ don’t have to,” Luna turned back to him and grinned mischievously. She returned to the map board, shooing Willow aside to reveal a small poster pinned at the bottom. “We just need a ticket.”

She shoved the paper into Ash’s hands letting him blink down at the fancy scrawl in confusion before it clicked. “That’s a passenger ship?!”

“According to this,” Luna jabbed a finger at the bottom few lines of text. “It’s a ‘scenic round trip from Seaworthy to the Fright Zone’.”

“Ooh, a cruise sounds nice and relaxing,” Willow ignored the Fright Zone bit, but Luna couldn’t blame her.

Ash was chuckling to himself in dismay. “No way this’ll work, Lu... We _know_ the Captain. We’ll be caught in seconds.”

He tossed the paper back to Luna who battered it away, allowing it to drift off in the wind. She’d already read the bit about _who_ was captain-ing the voyage.

“You think _Seahawk_ will recognize us? None of us have been to Salineas in years. And the guy is never around anyway, he wasn’t even at Princess Prom.”

“Probably busy here,” Willow pointed out. “If he was running a whole cruise line by himself.”

Ash flicked his tail, unconvinced. “I _still_ think we should play it safe. Just in case he grew a whole brain in the last few years.”

“Deal.” Luna grinned, reaching out and tightening Ash’s makeshift cloak until it was just a hole around his mouth. “Let’s go buy some cruise tickets.”

As luck would have it, they were able to snag tickets easily— discounted even. The merchant who sold them looked bored, and unimpressed with the ship behind them. Luna couldn’t really blame them; it did look smaller up close.

The Princess remembered Seahawk to be a rather boisterous presence at parties, but she couldn’t imagine many people were really interested in a ‘tour’ that took them to the ruins of the Fright Zone. At least fewer passengers, meant fewer people who might identify them, Luna thought as they walked up the gang plank.

The main deck was wide and open, the railing around the bow a gold trim that glinted in the sunlight. Running to the rail, Luna peered over the side at the sparkling water below where brightly colored fish swam curiously around the ship.

Along the sides of the ship, Luna could see a few orange lifeboats tied securely in place, and a couple other passengers leaning out beside them, pointing excitedly at the little creatures in the water.

Ash and Willow were at her side, the magicat boy climbing easily onto the railing and gazing down with wide pupils at the circling fish.

Willow was watching the sky, laughing as a few curious gulls swooped low to examine the trio. Reaching into her side pouch, she pulled out a hand full of herbs and held them out to the closest gull, who was blinking at her from its perch on the rail. It quirked its head, nipping cautiously at the offering before snatching it entirely and flapping back into the sky.

“I haven’t been this far out to sea before,” Willow sighed to herself as she watched the bird fly away. “It’s really pretty out here.”

Luna tore her eyes away from the vision of her friend and instead looked out at the waves, squinting against the blinding white sparkles and sun rising high above puffy white clouds. “Sure is.”

Ash appreciated the view silently, but his tail and ears quivered excitedly.

“Not afraid of the water?” Luna teased, smirking at him and pushing on his shoulder.

“No,” Ash’s grip in the bow tightened, his claws audibly squeaking as he clung to the wood. “Knock it off!”

“Okay!” she agreed, trying to push him off harder thanks to his choice of words. Ash yowled angrily and Willow quickly made to intervene when suddenly a loud and familiar shout drew their attention.

“Welcome aboard the Dragons Daughter XVI!”

The three turned to see Seahawk standing proudly at the helm, one foot braced against the wheel of the ship in a precarious position. Before any of the scattered passengers could react, Seahawk leapt down from the helm, landing on the planks of the main deck and swooping low into a bow. Scattered applause followed the theatrics.

Luna snorted, nudging Ash and rolling her eyes, who yawned in agreement. Willow, on the other hand, busied herself with adjusting all three of their cloaks—covering Ash’s ears, her own tail, and Luna’s floppy pink and blonde bangs.

“Today we embark on a glorious adventure!” Seahawk addressed the small crowd once more. “I, Captain Seahawk, will ferry you to distant lands the likes of which you have never seen before! Along the way, we may face many dangers, enemies of _unspeakable_ horror! But I assure you! The mighty Seahawk has never been bested before! And you will all be returned to this port safely once our quest is finished!”

From somewhere amongst the silent and stunned crowd, Luna heard someone ask, “I thought this was a sightseeing cruise?”

“Oh, but it is!” Seahawk’s energy was not deterred. “But what journey to sea isn’t fraught with the possibility of _death_ itself!”

A few of the crowd members shifted nervously, while others just looked confused.

“Remember,” Seahawk’s voice fluttered. “Tickets are non-refundable. _Is everyone ready?!”_

A few looked disgruntled about the fine print, but no one made a move to leave the ship.

“Excellent! Then off we go. I’ll just need someone to help me raise the anchor.” Seahawk aimed a finger through the crowd. “You there! Your first task as one of my crew. With me.”

Luna realized he was pointing to her when Ash nudged her shoulder and jerked his chin. The entire crowd was looking back at her now too. Ducking her head beneath her hood, Luna hurried forward as Willow whispered “ _careful”_.

Seahawk led the way to the stern of the ship where a large crank held the end of an iron chain the width of Luna’s arm.

“Now this tends to be a little shaky,” Seahawk knelt beside the crank, bracing himself against the screws Luna could see were barely holding it in place. “You turn the crank and I’ll ensure you don’t go overboard.” He laughed boisterously, ignorant of the way Luna was staring at him.

With a sigh, she approached the metal crank and swept the ends of her cloak off her arms to keep it from catching. She pushed hard against the lever, grunting with the strain. It didn’t budge at first. She straightened and glanced at Seahawk.

He nodded encouragingly. “Try again! It’s a bit sticky at first.”

Frowning, determined not to be beaten by a stupid lever after everything they’d gone through this far, Luna tackled the crank again pushing with all her might until _finally_ , it gave way. The crank began to move, still heavy, but easier now as she slowly pulled the chain up and up.

“Excellent work crewman!” Seahawk held the frame tighter as it began to shake. “You know the first time I went with my father on a boat, it was my job to lower and hoist the anchor. Nothing puts hair on a man’s chest quite like—,”

Luna tuned him out, focusing on the burn in her arms as she hoisted the anchor higher. She found herself staring at her forearms as she worked, the tiny scars she’d received from Catra’s training many weeks ago now, shining like silver crescents in the sunlight.

It hadn’t occurred to her far she’d come until this moment, the reminder of the start of this journey staring back at her. And now she and her friends were far from home. About to cross Etheria’s ocean and explore one of the most dangerous parts of the planet in hopes of rebuilding an ancient super weapon just so she could… Go home and toss some magic spheres around like Glimmer? Maybe?

Or maybe magic would manifest differently in her?

Or… Maybe it wouldn’t at all. And this was the worst idea she’d ever had and—

**_Thunk_ **

Luna blinked back to reality as the anchor hit the side of the ship and Seahawk hurried to lock it into place.

“Good work tiny crewman!” Seahawk quickly dashed around the deck to tug on another rope and the mainsail fell open catching the wind and rocking the ship. “Everyone to their positions! It’s time to set sail!”

Leaving the anchor behind, Luna returned to her friends at the bow, worries following like a dark shadow.

“Did he recognize you?” Willow whispered.

Luna shook her head and leaned against the rail. “No, we’re good.”

“Hey, have you thought about how we’re gonna get off this thing by the way?” Ash asked, having dropped to stand safely beside them both. “I doubt Seahawk will just let us hop off whenever we want to.”

“We could sneak off and swim, maybe?” Willow suggested. “When we get close enough?”

Ash shuddered at the idea of swimming, his tail lashing. “I’d rather steal a lifeboat.”

“We’ve stolen worse,” Willow admitted, her mouth a thin and guilty line. Absently her hand went to the pocket Luna knew she’d been keeping the piece of her grandfather’s crown.

“I’ll think of something,” Luna assured them both as the ship lurched out of port and onto the open sea. Gulls squawked overhead, sea spray crashed against the hull and into the air, the wind whipped around them, tugging at their cloaks. “I always do.”

Ash’s ears flicked, and he hummed. “Just try to make it a good plan this time. One that doesn’t end with us maybe being killed.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Luna grinned at him—more of a baring of her teeth, but it made Ash laugh.

Willow sighed beside them, but even then, her wobbly smile was more amused than worried. It was hard to feel too anxious when the sea ahead quite literally seemed to be beckoning them to adventure.

* * *

Adora, Scorpia and Catra traveled through the wilderness until nightfall. They were no closer to any immediate towns, but Melog had picked up what seemed like some kind of trail. They’d seen signs of what Scorpia guessed was another skiff, but nothing concrete. At least, for now, they had some sort of direction. And whether it was the kids or not, they’d decided to follow.

As they made camp—to avoid running into any more monsters in the dark—Adora found herself charged with making their campfire. It kept them warm and cooked some of the provisions Zur and Ruz had given them. But the moons above were bright tonight, bathing their campsite in a soft silver glow.

It reminded Adora painfully of home. Falling asleep as gentle moonlight filled her bedroom, catching in her wife’s sparkling hair while they cuddled together.

“You okay?”

Adora jerked when Scorpia called out to her, realizing she’d been gazing longingly up at the moons.

“Yeah, sorry,” she shook of the memories and gut twisting pain of missing her wife. “Just—Tired.”

“You miss home?” Scorpia prodded, not accepting Adora’s lie.

“You miss _her_ ,” Catra answered for the blonde with a rueful smirk.

Adora shrunk in on herself, taking a huge bite of her freshly warmed meat bun. It saved her from having to answer but earned her a burned tongue.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Scorpia ignored Catra’s jab too. “Sometimes, when ‘Fuma and I disagree, or get a little irritated with each other. We write letters.”

“Do you send a courier too?” Catra teased, but Scorpia shot her a surprisingly stern look.

“No, I’m serious! Sometimes… Taking the extra time to _write_ out your thoughts, really helps you explain things in a way that’s hard to say out loud. And I know, _reading_ what Perfuma had to say to _me_ really slowed me down in those, uh, more heated moments.”

“You guys actually fight?” Catra spoke up again, but her question seemed sincere this time.

Scorpia shrugged. “We had some disagreements here and there. We never _‘fought’_.” She tried to make air quote with her pincers and failed. “But we didn’t have to fight to not _hear_ each other. Sometimes it’s just a good idea to try something new. Besides,” she looked up at Adora. “Maybe it’ll untangle some of the hurt inside you if you just… Tell Glimmer how you feel right now.”

Adora looked down at her bun, rubbing her burnt tongue against her teeth as she thought. Finally, she looked up: “Write her a letter?”

Scorpia smiled. “Can’t hurt to try.”

She was right. What did Adora have left to lose at this point?

So after dinner, as Scorpia took first watch and Catra and Melog curled up nearby, Adora dug through their supplies for a pen a paper. She sat staring at the blank sheet for a long time, listening to the crickets chirp, wondering _where_ to even begin.

Finally, Adora started to write, deciding to leave in any errors or mistakes… No matter what happened after this journey was over, Glimmer deserved her total and unabashed honesty. The words poured quickly out of Adora’s heart:

‘ _Starlight,_

_I hope this letter reaches you before I do._

_As much as I want to see you again, and… talk about, well, everything… I think things might be easier if you read this first._

_I’m not good with words…but that’s nothing new. I don’t have to tell you that, do I? … You’ve known me long enough._

_Twenty years._

_Half my life spent with you, by your side, loving you. Sometimes I think about my life before…You, and Luna, and She-Ra and anything else and it seems like a dream. Like there was no way I existed before I knew you did too._

_It feels a little bit like that now, to be honest. We’ve never really ‘fought’ the way we have recently. I think---I mean, I know… I’ve messed it all up, Glim. In just trying to protect you and Luna, I fell into the same traps that nearly broke us apart all those years ago during the war._

_I don’t know what to do now but to tell you that I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, either of you. But I did. And whatever price I have to pay for that, I will._

_I’m bringing Luna home. I promise._

_After that… Whatever happens, however_ you _feel about me now, I want you to know something. An absolute truth that’s kept me grounded for all these years.’_

Adora paused, realizing her hand was trembling so hard that her letters were coming out shaky.

_‘I love you, Glimmer._

_More than the sun and the moons and the stars we put back in the sky together._

_I made a mistake. One that might have damaged our relationship beyond repair._

_But even if that’s the case, I want you to believe that my love for you has never faltered for even a moment._

_I am yours, Glim. Forever._

_You are my Heart.’_

Adora thought maybe she should go back and explain, in detail, some of the thoughts that had led her to make her mistakes… Defend why she’d fought so hard to protect Luna. Maybe offer a plan to sit down, when she returned, so they could work on their relationship again.

Instead, she returned to the bottom of the letter and simply signed her name. When she made it home again they would talk.

_‘Home soon,_

_Adora’_

* * *

Another stressful morning alone saw Glimmer make her way to her mother’s garden after daily meetings had concluded. Bow was supposed to be coming by later that day, and he’d mentioned bringing Lonnie along.

Although the two had gotten married years ago, Glimmer still found herself a bit irritated with the former Horde soldier every time they met. Although their relationship was cordial, for both their children and Bow’s sake, an undercurrent of animosity had always existed between them.

Regardless, Glimmer wasn’t about to turn down her best friends offer for company. Especially when she spent most days secluded in her room.

For now, Glimmer hurried through the palace, avoiding anyone who might demand her attention, and out into the garden. She didn’t tend to it as often as she used to, mostly Micah did nowadays. But walking through the space that had once been so lovingly cultivated by her late mother was soothing. There was still no word from Adora, Catra or Scorpia. And her guards were still receiving distress reports from faraway towns. For now, Glimmer had decided to keep her forces at home, and simply send word to kingdoms closer to the issue.

But it was just another stressor to add to her personal struggles. Some looming unknown threat out there, waiting to spring.

She walked by a patch of violets, stooping to inhale their soft scent. Quiet birds chirped in the air around her and in the distance, Glimmer could hear the snip of garden shears.

Rising, Glimmer followed the sound and found her father trimming carefully at a rosebush. He trimmed the dead branches off, collecting them in a thorny pile before stepping back to study his work.

“Looks really good dad,” Glimmer giggled when Micah started at the sound of her voice.

“Oh! Thank you, Angel. Sorry I didn’t hear you come in,” Micah set his clippers down, and removed his moon embroidered gardening gloves.

Glimmer nodded towards the roses he’d been pruning. “Those used to be moms’ favorites.”

“Oh, I know,” Micah assured her, running a gentle finger over a single petal. “That’s because the first bouquet I ever gave her as a bunch of red roses.”

Glimmer smiled. It seemed even now, there was still more to learn about her mother and father’s relationship. Angella had been loathe to talk about the King when she’d assumed he was dead. And conversely, when Micah had returned to Bright Moon, he’d been met with an empty throne and the reality of never seeing his wife again.

The grieving process had been long and hard, but fortunately, going through it together had been a small silver lining. Regardless, Glimmer still didn’t know all of the details.

“Where did you find roses in Mystacor?” Glimmer asked, realizing that would have been where her parents first met.

“In the Headmasters personal quarters of course,” Micah chuckled.

Leaving the rose bush behind, Micah put a gentle hand between Glimmer’s shoulders and led her out into the grass field they’d let Luna cultivate when she was younger. Having a few free spaces between flower patches was better for the plants. And for Luna it meant letting her toss grass seeds haphazardly around the dirt and pretend she was gardening.

Micah plopped down in the soft grass and Glimmer followed suit. The sun felt warm on her skin, but it made her unpreened feathers itch. Despite her best efforts to maintain her appearance, her wings had gone untreated for a long time now. Dull, feathers crooked and uncared for. Glimmer suddenly wished very much her mother was there to remind her how to care for them again.

“I miss her too, y’know,” she said. “Mom. But… I always do.”

“I know,” Micah acknowledged.

“And with Adora and Luna now…,” Glimmer’s chuckle was tinted with a bit of hysteria. “It’s a lot to miss.”

“I understand.”

A sudden very personal question wormed its way into Glimmer’s head. They never talked much about Micah’s time on Beast Island. At least not in detail. Solitude for over ten years had left him a changed and emptier man. Glimmer had wanted to give him his life back. Reminding him of time stolen, seemed cruel.

Even still, she found the question slipping out:

“Did you miss us too? Me and mom. When you were alone?”

Micah’s thick brows lowered slightly. “Of course I did… But… “

Glimmer’s heart picked up speed. “But…?”

“But the hardest part wasn’t missing you two. The hardest part was not knowing whether I’d ever go home again.” The confession left him in a sigh.

Glimmer could only image the despair. In some ways, she knew she could relate. The unknown of her own situation was devastating.

“But at the same time,” Micah continued, twisting a bit of grass between his fingers. “Thinking about you and your mother was the only thing that kept me going.”

Glimmer dipped her chin, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Remembering the days I spent chasing you around the castle as a rambunctious teleporting toddler,” Micah paused, earning a giggle. “Or thinking about the peaceful and perfect evenings your mother and I spent together in these gardens… Pretending for a few hours that a worldwide war couldn’t harm us… _Those_ were the memories that kept me hoping. That kept me _dreaming_. That someday—I’d find a way home. And thought I think I always knew I would have missed so much—The fact that I would be able to be with you both again at all… I’m glad I hung on. Each and every day. No matter how hard it got.”

Glimmer sniffed, silent tears dripping down her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

“I know it’s hard right now,” Micah scooted closer, his grey chin tickling Glimmer’s temple as he wrapped her in an embrace. “Missing them, wondering when you’ll see them again, how things will be different, or the same, or somewhere in between…. But Glimmer, you are the strongest person I know. You are so brave, Angel. You always have been. You are doing the best you can right now…. And so is your family.”

Micah tilted her chin up and Glimmer smiled at him through tears.

“Adora will bring Luna home. Everything will be alright. I _know_ it will. Because the way you two believe in one another has never been anything short of inspiring.”

Glimmer choked on a sob, inhaling and forcing it to turn into a breathy chuckle. Micah was right, of course they would be alright. Or even if they weren’t at first, Glimmer would _fight_ to make it right again. She loved Adora, she loved her family. She wasn’t giving up on them. She never had before.

She just had to be _patient_ … A lifelong challenge, for her, unfortunately.

Micah smiled, removing his arms from around Glimmer, but remaining close so she could lean on his shoulders. Rubbing the tears from her cheeks, Glimmer took a few deep breaths, blinking up at the bright blue morning sky. The tweets of birds and rustle of trees in the wind tickled her ears. The sun was warm and the air smelled of the sweet grass and flowers that surrounded them.

Glimmer toyed absently with the blades of grass near her fingers, smiling as a memory bubbled to the surface.

“Do you remember the first time we took Luna out here after she learned how to crawl?”

Micah chuckled, immediately aware of the same memory. “Of course I do. Hard to forget the sheer panic.”

“I swear we looked away for two seconds before she started trying to eat leaves,” Glimmer retorted, and Micah laughed again.

“Luna was adamant on causing chaos no matter the situation. Not much has changed there.” Micah rubbed his gray beard. “Scaring her mothers during her first garden outing by choking on a leaf was absolutely in character.”

Huffing, Glimmer closed her eyes, remembering the brief but _overwhelming_ panic of the moment. Luckily, Adora had scooped her up and whacked the baby so hard on the back that the wet and soggy leaf came flying right back out. Of course, Luna’s confused wails had followed, but they’d patched her right up with snuggles and back rubs. And since then, outdoor play times were given much more vigilance.

“How about the time Adora asked me to cover meetings for the day so she could take care of Luna who was supposedly ‘feeling a little warm’,” Micah prompted, smirking.

“Right. And you spent the whole day fending off delegates only to realize that they’d actually just been building ‘Luna Land’?”

“It was a really impressive pillow fort,” Micah admitted. “And not so bad once they reformed their immigrations laws and allowed me entry in exchange for some cake!”

“Was that around the time Luna started noticing her feathers?” Glimmer asked, recalling quite clearly how excited her daughter had been upon realizing she would one day have wings as brilliant as her mothers.

While Glimmer still believed they would grow, but she knew Luna had lost all hope for her crooked wings.

“I think so,” Micah smiled. “That seems to be around the same time she started jumping off bookcases in my office trying to fly.”

Glimmer had to shake her head, although sometimes she found herself ruefully fond of the antics her daughter got into. It reminded her of her own youth, and her relationship with her own mother. Luna, regardless of how distant she grew nowadays, had brought an indescribable light to Glimmer’s life again.

In a world without her mother, her (then) slightly estranged father, and her distant relationship with Bow as he formed his own family—welcoming her _own_ daughter into the world had opened up a piece of Glimmer’s heart she didn’t know existed. An overwhelming amount of love and devotion and care for the tiny soul that depended on her for everything. In a way, it made her feel closer to Angella.

Even now that Luna could stand on her own, be her own person, make her own decisions and mistakes; Glimmer knew that somewhere inside was the little girl who had asked her to teach her to fly, and begged for her snuggles when she was sick, or told her and Adora how much she loved them over and over and over again as they told late night bedtime stories. Luna had always been a handful; but Glimmer would not trade their ambitious and excitable dreamer for anything.

Glimmer hoped that as much as she could restore her relationship with her wife, she could also mend her connection to her daughter. They both had half of her heart, and she was incomplete without them.

Smiling at the fond and melancholy memories, Glimmer looked down at her hand, the sunlight catching on her wedding ring. Another poignant memory came back to her, as she rolled her thumb over the band.

When she spoke, her voice was filled with warmth, but quiet. “Do you remember the day Adora proposed?”

“I remember you were absolutely glowing when you two came back to the castle to break the news,” Micah nudged her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of you grinning so hard since.”

Glimmer kept her eyes on the diamond as if she could see that day’s events playing out in its faceted surface.

“She took me on a walk in the Whispering Woods. Back to where she first found the Sword. Where _we_ first found _her_. She told me… That the day she found the Sword was the day her entire life changed, but not just because of She-Ra.” Glimmer’s face crumpled, and she bit back a fresh wave of tears. “She told me that meeting me, becoming my friend, falling for me… She said she had me to thank for everything that had brought her to that day. And then she told me she wanted that for the rest of her life. She wanted _me_ for the rest of her life.”

Micah was watching her quietly, dark eyes sparkling with emotion.

“I would have said it all back, everything was true for me too, but I couldn’t say _anything_. It was so—wonderfully overwhelming,” Glimmer giggled to herself. She paused then, a deep and intrinsic truth finally dawning on her. “I’ve loved Adora half my life… I’ll love her for the rest of it, no matter what. I _know_ that.”

Micah’s smile was bright and warm, as if she’d reached the conclusion he’d been pushing her toward all along.

“You will. And she will too. I have faith in you both.”

Glimmer leaned against his shoulder, her wing curling slightly around him in a gentle embrace. “Thank you, Dad.”

* * *

Luna was still trying to figure out how to snag one of the lifeboats even a few hours into the trip. They were tied tight to the side of the ship with complicated rope knots. She crept around them as unobtrusively as she could, studying for any flaw or quick release as her friends explored other areas of the ship.

She didn’t know how close Seahawk intended to take them to the Fright Zone _or_ to land… And swimming would literally probably end in death for all of them. But distracting an entire ship full of people long enough to sneak a life boat off during daylight also seemed impossible.

“Inspecting the merchandise?”

Luna whirled around to find Seahawk standing proudly behind her, a grin underneath his mustache. She quickly ducked her head, but once again Seahawk didn’t seem to have any idea who she was.

“Uh, yeah, nice... Boat. Very… _compact_.”

“Indeed!” Seahawk slapped the side of the lifeboat. “But these models can fit more passengers than you might assume! They were made by the best craftsmen in Salineas. You see, my Dearest wife Mermista would only support my continued sailing endeavors _if_ I added a few safety precautions. Which is why _these_ ,” he slapped the boat again, “are nearly unsinkable. And _this ship_ ,” he gestured to the ship as a whole, “is entirely _fireproof!_ ”

Luna didn’t really want to think about why that was necessary, so she shifted the conversation to act as if she was a complete stranger.

“Salineas, huh?”

“Salineas,” Seahawk’s tone grew melancholy. “The home of my heart. I do miss it on these voyages. But I have belonged to the sea from the moment I learned to walk. My Mermista understands, as do my children. Someday I suspect my son will take on the title of Captain long after I have passed onto distant shores. For now! They remain in Salineas.”

“I’ve never been there before,” Luna lied, specifically recounting the time she and the other kids had gone on a search for Salineas’ ‘Great Ghost Ship’ when they were younger. 

“A shame!” Seahawk informed her. “It’s a beautiful place. The home of the Pearl and the mighty Sea Gate. Which once withstood the might of the entire Horde army many, many years ago.”

Luna perked up at the mention of the war she still knew so little about.

“The Horde?” she tried not to sound _too_ curious. “Like… The war of Horde Prime Horde…?”

“Indeed! The very same who used to occupy the land we’re sailing to now! In fact, one of my most dangerous missions took place upon the shores of Salineas itself.”

“It did—?”

“The Tale of Captain Seahawk and the Great Sea Gate!” Seahawk threw his foot out onto the prow, striking a valiant pose as sea spray crashed against the hull. “Of course…Uh, She-Ra was there too.”

Luna glanced at his ridiculous profile, heart dropping. “She-Ra?”

“Oh yes!” Seahawk’s face was solemn. “However, this particular adventure happened during her early years. Poor thing could barely hold the Sword upright on her own. The legendary She-Ra needed Captain Seahawk to succeed in her epic quest!”

Scoffing, Luna folded her arms over the railing again, the Sword heavy on her back. “No way She-Ra was ever anything less than perfect. It comes with the _title_.”

“Not true!” Seahawk stepped back a bit, thoughtfully rubbing his chin as he scanned the horizon. “I quite remember watching Adora—now Queen of Etheria too, by the way—grow into those big glowing boots of hers. It was quite a process. One full of failures,” Seahawk waved a dramatic hand, “Bravery, _resilience_ , and self-discovery.”

Luna didn’t usually put any stock in Seahawk’s wild tales, but something about the melancholy in his voice caught her attention. Curious, she prodded:

“So…what happened at the Sea Gate…?”

Seahawk’s eyes lit up and he practically leapt onto the railing, balancing impressively like a magicat. “I’m glad you asked!” He held a hand out to the sky, clenching his fist at the sun. “On a quest to ask my Dearest Love Mermista to lend her power to the Princess Alliance; I, Captain Seahawk, ferried She-Ra, _Princess_ Glimmer, and Grand Master Bow to Salineas. It was a journey full of song and whimsy. Until—,”

Seahawk leapt onto the deck again, rattling the boards. “—We were met by an armada of Horde soldiers! Intent on destroying the Sea Gate, and the Pearl itself! A blow that devastating would have crippled Salineas beyond repair. While the Princess, Bow and I held off the—dozens, no _hundreds_ , of Horde soldiers!—She-Ra made an attempt to restore power to the Runestone. Alas…,”

Seahawk paused, hand dropping to his chest, and Luna found herself waiting intently for him to continue. “She nearly failed….”

“What do you mean?”

“She was not confident in her ability,” Seahawk suddenly lost energy, leaning over the rail, the wind sweeping through his hair and jacket. “Not as She-Ra. And not as Adora. She was not able to power the Runestone, not at first. And the day was nearly lost.”

Luna frowned, trying to imagine a scenario where her mother—the infallible hero—had ever nearly failed.

“But… You didn’t lose?” Luna prompted and Seahawk leapt up again, fist raised victoriously.

“Absolutely not! We came together as a crew! As an _Alliance_! And together, our power became hers as well.” Seahawk’s broad grin grew soft, his voice cracking with memory. “If it hadn’t been for all of us, the war might have been over that day. But She-Ra, all of Etheria, has always drawn hope from one another. Friends, family, love. It’s a very powerful thing you know?”

Seahawk turned to Luna, his eye shining. “But you must be open to letting others in first. Admitting weakness is the first step to finding true strength.”

Luna was still trying to correlate those wise words with the goofy man she’d known growing up when he spun around and strode down the deck, laughing.

“Now who’s ready for a shanty?!”

He began singing before anyone acknowledged him, but Luna’s mind was still spinning.

Somewhere, deep down, she assumed that Adora hadn’t _always_ been perfect… Even as She-Ra. But when her entire life had been filled with paintings, and stories, and the very experience of being carried in the legendary warriors’ golden arms—it was hard to imagine she’d _ever_ struggled. Especially in the same way Luna ever had.

Guilt tugged at Luna’s heart strings. If Seahawk wasn’t exaggerating, and Adora had almost lost the war early on by doubting herself… Should—Maybe Luna shouldn’t have been so harsh on her.

Frowning, she immediately shook off the guilt. Whether that was the case or not, the way Adora treated her now still wasn’t fair. _Especially_ , if she’d grown up feeling just as inadequate.

But still….

Just then, Ash returned from scouring the ship before she could spiral further. He ducked under Seahawk’s waving arms to join her by the railing.

“Hey,” he murmured, glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. “I couldn’t find anything below deck that would be better than a lifeboat. Any ideas yet?”

Luna stared at the twisted knots holding the lifeboats, shifting the weight of the Sword on her back, as Seahawk’s words swam around her head.

“I’ve got one,” she said finally, turning to meet Ash’s yellow gaze. “But you’re not gonna like it.”

“Oh, I love hearing those words,” Willow appeared beside them just in time, her shoulders slumping. “What are we doing?”

Luna placed a comforting hand on the taller girls arm and pulled Ash close to whisper. “Don’t worry, _I’ll_ be the distraction. You two work on cutting the ropes on this lifeboat while I take care of the crew.”

“And how are you gonna distract the entire ship?” Ash’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

“Easy,” Luna reached up, tapping the covered sword handle. “I’m gonna start a mutiny.”

* * *

After leaving her father to finish up in the gardens, Glimmer was greeted by Bow in the main hall. He immediately wrapped her in a firm and long needed hug. No words passed between them, but the familiar touch was enough to make Glimmer want to cry again.

“Sorry we’re a little early,” Bow released Glimmer from him embrace, adjusting his spectacles that had been squashed in the process.

“I lost track of time, to be honest,” Glimmer admitted with a shrug. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

Bow grinned and then turned and gestured Lonnie forward. She’d been standing aside, waiting her ‘turn’ assumedly. And while Glimmer had expected maybe some look of superiority, or ‘I told you so’, in her hazel eyes—that wasn’t what she got.

“Bow told me you weren’t holding up too well,” Lonnie glanced her up and down, one thick brow raising. “Looks like he was right.”

Glimmer almost sputtered, almost immediately spat the first insult she could think of, almost simply turned and walked the other direction—until she saw the challenging smirk growing on the ex-Horde soldiers’ lips. Pausing, eyes narrowed, Glimmer glanced at Bow.

“Did you come here just to insult me then?”

Bow’s smile was wavering nervously, but he kept silent. Glimmer forced her attention back to Lonnie, who’s eyes now gleamed.

“Insult the Queen? Who do you think I am, Catra?” Lonnie smirked and Glimmer snorted, the sound almost startling all three of them.

“I just figured maybe I could hit you with some hard truths until you were angry enough to chase me around with a sparring baton.” From seemingly out of nowhere, Lonnie pulled out two extendable bow staffs. She jerked her thumb at Bow, who was still nervously sweating. “Bow said you still have what it takes. Wanna give me a chance to prove him wrong?”

Glimmer was absolutely onto their game. But she was also exceedingly grateful (for once in her life) for Lonnie’s competitive nature. Carefully, Glimmer reached out and took the staff Lonnie offered, whipping it out to full length with a quick flourish.

“No, but I’ll give you a chance to back out now.”

Lonnie beamed, brushing confidently past Glimmer towards the training grounds. “Meet me outside, Your Majesty.”

Glimmer glared after her, then turned to Bow and giving him a pointed smirk. “Nice plan.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Bow’s fake grin was too large for his face.

As Glimmer turned to follow Lonnie, she had to admit, she’d never expected to bond with her best friends’ partner like this.

But it wasn’t a bad place to start.

* * *

Luna knew that Seahawk would be the only true threat when she began causing chaos. The rest of the people on board were unsuspecting passengers taking a cruise. Seahawk didn’t even have a crew aboard. Feasibly, all she had to do was frighten the passengers away from the lifeboats so her friends could work, and then… Battle Seahawk?

He boasted his skills often, but she’d also seen him trip over his own untied bootlaces and faceplant into his twins’ 12th birthday cake. Regardless, he had still fought in the same war as all their parents. It couldn’t hurt to overestimate him.

Luna felt her heart flutter anxiously as Seahawk announced their approach to Fright Zone shores. The _real_ ruins of the Fright Zone lay farther inland, but a tiny port town rested against the rocks that Luna could see in the far distance.

The sun was getting low now, casting a red orange glow across the deck. Seahawk was currently babbling about ‘Fright Zone Fun Facts’ as he turned the wheel and began turning the ship around, back towards Seaworthy.

Glancing at her friends, Luna gave them a firm nod to acknowledge that the plan was in motion. Ash quickly slunk off towards the lifeboat, claws bared, but Willow hesitated.

“Be careful, Luna,” she insisted. “If I have to help with my powers, I will.”

Luna didn’t want to stress her friend further than she knew she already was, so she just gave a reassuring smile and crept out onto the main deck.

Inhaling deeply, plastering on the fiercest expression she could, Luna reached back and gripped the hilt of the Sword, drawing it from its makeshift holster with a brandished swing. Her brown cloak fluttered behind her, catching the wind and helping her strike what she hoped was an intimidating figure.

“Captain Seahawk!” she shouted above the waves and wind. The deck around her went silent, passengers whirling to look.

“This is a mutiny! Step away from the helm! If you do as I say then no one gets hurt!”

She waved the sword at the vaguely assembled crowd, flinching as they all gasped. Seahawk looked down, and to Luna’s surprise, a wild grin lit up his face.

“A mutiny you say? Pirates afoot? On _my_ ship?!” with a laugh and a leap, he landed in front of her, wheel abandoned as he withdrew a long golden rapier from the back of his belt. “I say you’ll have to _pry this ship from my cold dead hands tiny Pirate!”_

He drew the thin blade challengingly along Luna’s cracked one, grinning fiercely. “And to think I was fooled into sharing my tale of the Seagate with a heathen like yourself.”

Luna adjusted her footing, taking a step at the same time Seahawk did, and circling around him. Glancing over his shoulder, she saw both her friends sawing away at the knots of the lifeboat already.

“A duel?” Luna suggested, pressing forward in a challenging step.

Seahawk eagerly lifted his sword in reply. “En gaurde!”

He came at her quickly, blows more powerful than she’d expected but she managed to parry the initial flurry. Around them the passengers screamed and scattered away. Luna did her best to remain aware of where they were, so as not to hurt anyone, but Seahawk was an obnoxious fighter.

He shouted and grunted with every blow, laughing when Luna aimed a slash at his mid-section that managed to catch his shirt.

“Oh ho!” he chuckled, pausing to pick at the torn fabric. “To the death it is then!”

He charged again, but Luna sidestepped and knocked him in the back with her hilt, sending him stumbling. She followed quickly, remembering her training, but Seahawk whirled in time to catch her blade.

“A true challenge!” he cheered; his eyes almost sparkling. “At least my ship was boarded by a pirate worth her merit.”

Luna blinked, relaxing the pressure on their sword lock for a moment. “A challenge?”

“Oh indeed,” Seahawk relaxed as well. “You are no meager foe, tiny Pirate.”

“Oh, thank you…,” Luna didn’t quite know how to take the compliment, but then Seahawk was shoving her back and the exchange of blows began again. Luna thought she was doing well, although she wished her friends would hurry, but then a ringing noise filled her ears.

Switching his sword to his left hand with a flourish, Seahawk withdrew a tiny commpad from his pocket. He glanced at Luna as if asking for permission to answer, and then proceeded to do so, fighting one handed.

“Seahawk?”

Luna recognized the voice and began attempting to batter the commpad out of Seahawk’s grasp.

“Mermista!” Seahawk crowed. “ _My love!_ I’m afraid you caught me at a bad time. I’m currently locked in a life-or-death duel with a mutinous pirate!”

“Pirate?” Mermista’s voice crackled with static. “I thought you were doing your cruise thing today.”

“I am!” Seahawk dodged one of Luna’s blows and flipped the commpad around for Mermista to see the duel. “She snuck aboard amongst the peaceful passengers. But have no fear, My Queen. I will defeat her and return safe and sound.”

Luna froze as Mermista’s brown eyes locked with hers. Recognition even through the tiny screen, only took a moment. Her eyes narrowed and then widened, and she shouted, “Seahawk! That’s Luna—,”

Luna rammed her sword through the commpad screen. It cracked and sparked in Seahawk’s hands. Yelping he dropped it only for Luna to kick it away.

“Mermista!” Seahawk wailed, as if Luna had skewered the Salineas Queen herself.

Looking over her shoulder, Luna saw Ash and Willow dropping the lifeboat into the sea. Ash leapt down and Willow turned to wave her over. “Luna come on!”

Luna glanced back at her opponent—who was currently rushing her, sword raised. Gripping her blade by both ends Luna ran to meet him. At the last moment, she dropped, sliding through his legs. Bracing her hands, she allowed the sword to catch his ankles as she passed, and Seahawk went flying off his feet.

Scrambling up, Luna turned to watch as the Captain stumbled completely over the side of the ship and into the water below, cursing her as he fell. His cry was cut short by a loud splash. Running to the edge, Luna looked down to see Seahawk bob back to the surface, rubbing the water from his eyes.

Another shout had her whirling around to see a few brave passengers approaching to possibly throw her overboard too. She would never know, because Willow sent a blast of electricity as the crowds’ feet, stopping them.

Taking the opportunity, Luna turned and ran towards her friends. Ash had already dropped, but Willow seemed to be waiting for her.

“Go!” she shouted, and Willow quickly jumped over the side, landing hard in the boat below.

Luna picked up the pace, as the sound of dozens of footsteps followed. Sheathing her sword again, she leapt over the side of the boat, expecting a hard landing and instead found herself caught in the safety of Willow’s arms.

She cracked an eye open, meeting her worried friends face.

“You okay?”

Luna nodded, a bit breathless as she was set on her feet. Looking around, she saw Seahawk nearby, swimming towards them, and the passengers above, looking down.

“Hold tight,” Ash told them both, scrambling to the small motor in the back of the lifeboat. “We’re getting out of here.”

With a tug and a roar, the boat’s motor came to life and they tore away from the ship towards the distant shore. Before they got too far, Willow lifted a hand, shooting another blast of electricity at the mainsail and tearing a hole through the fabric.

“Sorry!” she called out, as the ship began to shrink behind them. She turned back to the other two, who were stunned. “I figure it would be harder for them to follow us that way… Do… You think they’ll all be okay?”

Luna peered at the setting sun to see the passengers lowering something to Seahawk. “They’ll be fine.”

“Mutiny successful, I guess,” Ash chuckled, piloting towards the shore. “That was pretty good sword fighting, Luna.”

Luna couldn’t help her proud smile. “Thanks.”

“We’re almost there,” Willow pointed out, her gaze on distant and craggy forms that rose high above the land. “I can’t believe we made it all the way out here.”

“We’ll have to be careful once we get close,” Ash pointed out. “The Fright Zone is dangerous.”

“How are we gonna get back?” Willow prodded, quiet. “Once we have the Heart and stuff.”

 _Good question_ , Luna mused. She wished she’d thought that far ahead.

“Let’s focus on _that_ first,” she said out loud, pointing to the port town they were approaching.

“Is that—?”

Willow trailed off but this close they could smell the acrid smoke overpowering the salty brine of the sea.

The port they were about to approach was currently on fire.

* * *

It took another day to reach the nearest town—one Adora remembered from some of her earliest adventures as part of the Rebellion.

Seaworthy looked the same as ever. Still rife with colorful characters, the salty tang of the sea filling the air around them. Adora could hear the cacophony of gulls screeching at the docks as they made their way into the port.

Lucky for them, they were able to haggle with a weapons dealer to obtain Adora a simple fighting staff—although she had to give up one of her gold pauldrons to pay for it.

They split up then, searching for signs of the kids as Adora headed into the inn, letter clutched tight in her hand. Before anything else happened, whether they were on the kids’ trail, or too far ahead—Adora knew she needed to get her words back to Glimmer.

Inside the inn was a tiny mailbox she remembered from her first visit. While the innkeeper wasn’t able to tell her how quickly a courier would be able to get her letter back to Bright Moon, Adora took the chance anyway. Running her fingers over the messy scrawl of Glimmer’s name on the envelope, Adora heaved a sigh and dropped the letter into the box.

With luck, it would find its way home before she did.

Afterwards, she headed back into the port, finding her companions near the skiff lot.

“Adora,” Catra waved her over excitedly. “Check this out.”

Approaching, Adora examined the skiff her friends were fawning over. There was a long black scratch along the side, and the engine was worn—making a tired sputtering noise when Adora tapped the ignition plate. Inside the skiff were a bunch of opened boxes. Food and cloth and goods scattered along the deck.

Adora wasn’t sure what exactly they thought they’d found. “What—?”

“Look,” Catra held up a tiny black _something_ between her fingers for Adora to see.

“Uhh…”

Ears flattening, Catra rolled her eyes and explained, “Ash was here! This is literally a piece of his claw.”

Blinking, the reality of that discovery slowly dawned on Adora.

“It is?”

“And Willow!” Scorpia called out from atop the skiff, near its stern. She turned around, holding up a few wilted pink petals that she’d scoured from the debris on deck. “Sweat pea petals that my little Wildflower always wears.”

Adora glanced between her friends, hope rising like the burning sun in her chest, despite the overwhelmed tears between them all.

“So they were here!”

“We’re on the right track,” Scorpia agreed, hopping down, tucking the dead petals away in her side pouch. “We should ask around and see if anyone saw them.”

“Do you think they got on a boat?” Catra asked, her gaze on the harbor.

“If they did, we need to hurry,” Adora felt grim, realizing there was no other place their kids were headed now. The goal? They still weren’t sure. But Luna, Ash and Willow were most certainly headed for the ruins of the Fright Zone. “C’mon, let’s see what we can find out.”

Questioning the few folks wandering around the port didn’t give them much information. Granted, Adora knew it was a long shot. Even if they _had_ been here; hundreds of travelers passed in and out of Seaworthy every day.

Fortunately, luck or fate, was on their side because not long after they’d started their search, a huge white ship returned to port---its passengers streaming off in a fearful flurry. At the top of the gang plank stood a battle-weary Seahawk.

“Adora!” he called out, rushing down the dock as he saw the trio making their way toward the ship.

“Seahawk—,” Adora didn’t get a chance to ask what caused such a disturbance on his ship before the man gripped her shoulders and shook firmly.

“Nice to see you too, ‘Mr. Absent King of Salineas’,” Catra drawled, crossing her arms as Seahawk continued with his breathless theatrics. “What happened to you? Sail straight into a typhoon?”

“Worse!” Seahawk cried. “ _Pirates!_ The Dragon’s Daughter XVI was mutinied!”

“By pirates?” Adora patted Seahawk’s back as he practically wept into her shoulder.

“Tiny ones!” He cried out. “Fearsome opponents! My Dearest Mermista contacted me by commpad mid-fray! She was able to identify one of them.” Seahawk stepped back, hands still planted on Adora’s shoulders. “The lead pirate was yours.”

A wave of conflicting horror, anxiety and guilt twisted Adora’s stomach. “Luna took over your ship?!”

“Luna, yes,” Seahawk snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered her name. “I can’t say why she and her companions merely threw me overboard before escaping themselves. An honorable pirate would have made off with my boat _and_ its treasures!”

“Seahawk,” Adora interrupted him, gripping his jacket sleeve. “Where did they land?”

“Near the Fright Zone,” Seahawk’s face suddenly grew anxious. “I—Realize now that they _may_ be in significant danger…”

“They’re already there?” Scorpia’s voice cracked.

“Seahawk, we need you to take us back,” Catra demanded, shoving him towards the gangplank.

“A mission to rescue the mutinees! Of course!” Seahawk crowed. “I can and will ferry you to the Fright Zone. For a price, of course. A man must make a wage.”

Glowering, Adora spun him around and pressed a firm finger into his chest. “You want to haggle a price to rescue a bunch of missing children? How do you think Mermista would feel about that? I’ll be sure to ask her next time I’m in Salineas.”

“No need! Just a joke, My Queen!” Seahawk squeaked, whirling around and bolting up the gang plank. “A free ride for old friends! Let’s—Let’s just avoid mentioning any of this to my Dearest Love whatsoever!”

Rolling her eyes, wondering how on earth Mermista and the twins put up with such a character, Adora gestured for Scorpia to follow and led the way up the gang plank.

The evidence of battle aboard the deck was abundant… On one hand, Adora was furious with Luna for not only destroying Seahawk’s property, but attacking _him_ (although sometimes Adora had to admit she wanted to do the same). But on the other hand, she couldn’t help but notice the depth of some of the more devastating slash marks in the bow. These were fairly powerful blows; left by a weapon she knew the heft and weight off all too well.

A flicker of … _pride_ took root in her chest, moments before Seahawk crowed something from the helm and the ship rocked out of the dock. Adora kept her place at the bow, resting her forearms on the chipped railing and keeping her gaze firmly on the horizon.

“What a mess…,” Catra picked her way carefully over torn bits of plank, leaning next to Adora—far more cautiously to avoid the sea spray. “I swear the _second_ we find those kids again, they’re in for it.”

Adora caught Catra running her fingers over a few obvious claw marks in the wood, her ears drooping the slightest bit.

“They really did a number on this boat, huh?” Scorpia appeared on Adora’s other side. She pointed a claw at the singed mainsail that must have been caused by Willow’s powers. “Think we’ll get very far with that big hole?”

“We’ve got to,” Adora ignored any other possibility, but realizing it would slow them significantly. “They’re already close to the Fright Zone. They’ve made it this far, but from what Catra’s told us, there’s a small army in those ruins. If we don’t get to them soon—,”

Adora trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish. The kids had been riding on a mix of skill and sheer dumb luck. But once faced with whatever nefarious group was gathering in the Fright Zone, it was more than likely that luck would run out completely.

The three women fell silent, their voices replaced by the crash of waves against the ship’s hull, gulls cawing in the blue sky above, and the wind whipping through the damaged sail.

“It is… Kinda impressive though,” Scorpia chuckled finally, a small smile turning her lips. “I mean when you think about how far our kids have come on their own. And they didn’t even have the training we did!”

“They’re also weren’t fighting a war,” Catra added, her gaze hard, locked on the horizon ahead.

“Well… Exactly… I mean don’t get me wrong,” Scorpia waved her claws. “Willow? She is in _huge_ trouble when she comes home. _Huge!_ Absolutely unacceptable running off the way she did. But… At the same time, it’s hard not to be a little—,”

“—Proud,” Adora finished for her, tearing her eyes away from the ocean to cast Scorpia a wistful smile.

Slowly, Scorpia’s expression softened, and she nodded. “Yeah, exactly. Yes. _Proud._ ”

Beside them, Catra’s flicking tail had turned to a smooth swish, even still, she maintained her irritation. “Let’s hope they stay alive long enough for us to tell them that.”

Adora agreed.

For now, hope was all they could hold onto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Thoughts, comments, and critiques are all welcomed and encouraged!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Until next time...

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Lunar Tides](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985998) by [Athetos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athetos/pseuds/Athetos)
  * [You Win This Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26004589) by [Athetos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athetos/pseuds/Athetos)
  * [Gold and Pink](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26705716) by [TeamGlimmadora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamGlimmadora/pseuds/TeamGlimmadora)
  * [It's Always Been You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833989) by [Athetos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athetos/pseuds/Athetos)
  * [From the Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070328) by [Say_Anything](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Say_Anything/pseuds/Say_Anything)




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